


Walk in the Sun with Me

by Mockingbird_22



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Coldflash Big Bang 2016, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Erotic Dreams, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Masturbation, Sexual Content, Vampire!Len, handjobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 20:29:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8027905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mockingbird_22/pseuds/Mockingbird_22
Summary: The Flash is on the verge of death when he is saved by Captain Cold, master thief and… Vampire?  With Len’s blood coursing through Barry’s system, he starts to have some interesting dreams about his nemesis. However, as Barry’s curiosity about all things vampire grows and he gets to know Len better, he’ll soon discover a whole new side to Leonard Snart.





	Walk in the Sun with Me

**Author's Note:**

> So, firstly this is my first proper fic with a plot and everything so I’d love to hear what you think! This story also really got away from me and was meant to be no more than about 5k originally but the plot got kinda turned on its head and this thing was begging to be written instead. If you want to hear how things were originally meant to pan out, feel free to hit me up on [Tumblr](http://mockingbird-22.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Notes on the fic: It’s pretty much completely canon divergent, some season 1 stuff happens but most I changed around and tweaked to fit what I wanted. Parts of Going Rogue and Revenge of the Rogues happen but some are changed to fit the story. I tried to stick to the characterisation as best I could but some things had to change for the plot and the background I gave characters and at the end of the day, there are vampires so things are never quite gonna be like in the show :P
> 
> This is semi based on vampires from True Blood but other places as well. The concept of how vampire blood affects humans is definitely from True Blood but with my own spin on it.
> 
> *******[Now with accompanying artwork](http://amber-flicker.tumblr.com/post/150886311549/they-walked-outside-just-as-the-sun-was-fully%20)*******
> 
> Thank you to the wonderful cliches-and-coffee!

There was a new metahuman that was currently terrorising Central City, real name Serena Scott. She had the power to temporarily block other’s powers, rendering heroes such as the Flash, completely powerless and thus earning her the nickname: Neutraliser, coined by Cisco of course.

Team Flash had so far only been able to observe her from afar once they found out what her power was. Barry couldn’t face off against her until they came up with a way to block her power or make Barry immune to it somehow. If he did his speed would be useless and they would have no way of stopping and capturing her.

The CCPD had also had no luck so far as she was very elusive as well and was never around long enough to be captured from a crime scene. So far they’d seen a couple of, what appeared to be, deliberate appearances on security footage and she was bad news, ruthless and going after whoever and whatever she wanted. She had targeted a couple of other harmless metahumans knowing she could easily subdue them without their powers. Her body count was starting to stack up; she either didn’t care or just thought she was too good to be caught. She’d even taunted the other metahumans about why their powers wouldn’t work around her, before she savagely cut them down.

Barry was anxious to stop her once and for all. He hated that people were getting hurt and he couldn’t do anything. But for once he had listened to Cisco and Caitlin's plea for him to not rush in without a plan. However, that didn’t mean it sat well with him.

From what they’d seen and heard, Neutraliser used some kind of energy field to knock out metahuman powers. Cisco had been on top form as ever and had come up with a device that could be fitted to the flash suit to prevent Barry being affected. It worked by counteracting the frequency at which her powers worked, at least that’s what Barry thought he remembered.

**********

It was late in the evening when the alert came in that Neutraliser had been spotted at a nearby park, surely full of civilians still. She didn’t appear to have any other powers so taking her in should be fairly straightforward, if Cisco’s calculations were correct. They didn’t have time to test the device so Barry sped off and hoped for the best.  

The park was dark and there were a few people scattered around, clearly out for evening walks or late home from work and just passing through. Barry spotted Neutraliser in an open area, shouting about what she was owed and how she would ruin this city and the Flash.

Barry decided the best thing to do would be to try to sneak up behind her, put on the cuffs and flash her to the precinct or failing that knock her out with a sedative Caitlin had made.

Barry flashed behind her and tried to grab her wrists but her reactions were incredibly fast and she landed a very hard punch to his chest, just as Barry tried to grab her. Disorientated, Barry was knocked backwards onto the ground. He tried to tap into his speed to try again but couldn’t. He couldn’t feel the speed force within him. That’s when he saw the damage done to the device in the centre of his chest.

He was powerless now. And clearly this woman had more than just the power to block other’s abilities. She was strong: inhumanely strong.

“You didn’t think you could try that on me and succeed. Did you, _Flash_?” She said. Smug grin plastered on her face. “Ah yes, you haven’t seen my other powers, see I thought I’d save this as a little surprise for you. You know, for when you were weak and powerless. Just like now.”

“You’re not gonna get away with this, hurting people, killing innocents. What do you even want?” Barry spat, picking himself up off the ground.

“Oh, I just want to see the city destroyed,” She retorted. “See I love destruction and where better to destroy than the beloved city under the Flash’s protection? Show the people the reality behind the person they look up to as their hero. Show them that with no powers the Flash is worthless and weak and can’t help anyone.”

Barry decided to come in quickly while she was still talking and tried to land a punch but she was too fast and easily deflected it. The fight continued for several more minutes. Barry was using the fighting tactics he’d learned from Oliver but hand to hand combat was not his strong suit. He hardly made contact with her. She was clearly highly skilled, strong and angry. _Very_ angry.

She hit Barry right in the jaw and he went down hard. Blood was streaming from his lip and nose when he sat back up. Neutraliser stood over him in the park, the few bystanders from earlier now nowhere to be seen. She stamped down hard on his leg and Barry cried out in pain, not enough force to break the bone, but close. Somehow the comms were still active and Caitlin and Cisco were screaming and asking Barry what was going on. They could clearly see that his vitals were all over the place. Neutraliser could hear the shouting as she bent down low and ripped the comms system from Barry’s cowl and crushed it.

He was truly alone now and he couldn’t even stand up to fight her. Didn’t know what he would do anyway. She punched him in the face again and Barry tried to defend himself but he could hardly move, pinned under her weight. He was bloodied and bruised and ached. She kicked him in the side and punched him in the stomach with all her might. Barry felt sick and light headed and dizzy all at once. She then pulled a knife from the sheath at her side and slashed at Barry’s arms tearing up the protective suit before slashing his stomach deeply and lodging the knife inside him. Blood poured out everywhere, he was still bleeding heavily from his facial wounds and now most of his torso was gushing blood too.

“By the time your powers come back I’ll be long gone, if you’re even alive that long that is,” she said in an overly saccharine way. She sounded pleased with herself and clearly expected Barry not to make it, Barry expected himself not to make it.

This was it he thought. He could feel his consciousness slipping slowly as he tried to hold on.

**********

Leonard Snart was a master thief and criminal to the people that knew his name. To the few people that actually knew the man, well he wasn’t a _man_ at all. He was a vampire. Something he’d kept closely guarded lest the wrong sort of people find out.

He wasn’t like the others of his kind though, he didn’t take pleasure from overpowering victims and feeding on them, no regard for whether they lived or died. The mere thought of killing unless absolutely necessary made him feel sick. For some time now he hadn’t even fed directly from humans. Instead he had a supply of blood pouches which he was only too grateful for.  

Planning heists that only ever happened at night was a necessity, but given the nature of his work night provided the perfect cover.

Len’s most recent solo heist had just gone off without a hitch. It was a small robbery job, liberating invaluable jewels from a few very interesting safety deposit boxes. He pulled out his phone once he was far away from the building and saw the alert from a local news channel which was reporting on a live fight the Flash was involved in. Len decided he could make is night a little more interesting and hopped on to his motorcycle and sped off.

There were no police on the scene yet but if the sirens were any indication then it wouldn’t be long. Not that they could do a lot anyway in a fight between two metahumans. Len couldn’t immediately see the fight but he strolled into the now deserted park all the same. He thought he saw a shadowy figure slinking away at the far end of the park but couldn’t be sure. What Len didn’t expect to see was a bloody and beaten Barry Allen lying on the ground, flash suit ripped, a knife in his stomach and blood pooling around his body, rapidly losing consciousness. Len knelt down beside Barry, he may be his nemesis but Len wasn’t a complete monster. He checked to see if Barry was breathing and he was but barely, taking harsh, shallow breaths that sounded like they hurt, a lot.

“Hey, Barry, stay with me. Can you talk, kid?”

“No powers, ah… I- I’m not healing,” Barry said barely more than a whisper.

Len had minutes to make a decision, save Barry by giving him his blood or just leave him here? Len knew he’d be exposing himself if he did this but he didn’t want the kid to die, there were many more dramatic face offs that needed to happen and dammit the city did need someone like this. If only to make Len up his game and be better at what he does.

He made the decision and extended his fangs to puncture his wrist. He gripped the knife in Barry while simultaneously pressing his wrist to Barry’s mouth. Barry started sucking slowly, drinking Len’s blood. The kid must be out of it if he wasn’t even questioning this, Len thought. Sure people knew vampires existed, Barry must, but it wasn’t like they were on the news constantly and most preferred to keep their existence hidden.

Len pulled the knife clean out and threw it aside, Barry didn’t even wince but instead just continued drinking more and more blood until Len decided he’d had enough. His wounds had all closed over now and no more blood was pouring out of his torso. He gently sat Barry up to check he was okay and fully healed. The kid still seemed a bit out of it, but the sound of sirens was drawing ever closer. Len gave Barry one final glance before disappearing on his bike into the night once more.

**********

Barry felt so much better immediately, like completely rejuvenated. When his thoughts collected themselves again he realised that Leonard Snart was one, a vampire and two, had just given Barry his blood to save his life. He would be more shocked if it weren’t for the ‘saving his life’ part and the fact he knew the healing powers of vampire blood. He thought the metahumans were bad enough, now vampires in Central too! He knew there were a few around but never actually thought he’d meet one. Or that Captain Cold would be one no less!

Barry definitely had questions, but for now he just needed to get back to the labs. As quickly as possible too, given that he had no speed and was a bloody mess. Luckily the park he was in wasn’t too far away, so he could walk back fairly easily. He also needed to apologise to Cisco about the suit, inform the others how he was now miraculously healed when he didn’t have his accelerated healing and then go home and sleep for as long as he could.

Barry arrived back on foot, luckily the dark shrouded him and he knew the back routes to take to ensure no-one saw him. Caitlin and Cisco practically tackled him when he was through the door, well Cisco more so, amazed at how he was walking and generally looking perfectly fine when his vitals had all plummeted not long before.

“Barry, what happened?” Caitlin asked worriedly.

“We lost all contact with you, and then your vitals went offline just after they all crashed. What did Neutraliser do to you? How are you looking so well… alive?” Cisco asked, not really thinking that he was bombarding Barry with questions.

His eyes then locked on to the ruined and bloody suit and his face drained.

“Oh my poor baby!” Cisco gasped.

“Yeah sorry about that, couldn’t really help the bleeding everywhere due to the fact I had a knife stuck in me,” Barry answered somewhat teasingly even though Caitlin and Cisco both gasped loudly. He felt surprisingly good given his near dalliance with death.

“Let me clean up then I’ll explain everything.”

Barry wandered back into the cortex wearing clean clothes and freshly showered, hair still a little damp. It felt good to be rid of all the dried blood. He handed the ruined suit to Cisco sheepishly.

“Well guess this is why we have more than one, right?” Cisco said, clearly trying to not take the damage to one of his suits personally. He laid the suit at one of his work stations then made his way back to Caitlin and Barry.

“Okay, so I was fighting Neutraliser and she’s strong, like really strong. Something she had kept hidden until now. And a very skilled fighter, think Oliver level but even better. I was trying to sneak an attack in when she hit me _hard_ , hard enough to damage the device you created to stop her powers from affecting me.  So obviously with my speed gone I tried what I could to fight her hand to hand, but she was too good. She ripped the comms off me when she heard you guys yelling. Long and short of it is she got in some good punches, nearly broke my leg and cut me up pretty bad and left me for dead. She said she wanted to destroy the city and show the people the kind of person the Flash really is, that without his power’s he’s nothing.”

Caitlin and Cisco’s faces both dropped when Barry relayed the extent of his injuries and winced at some of the details.

“Barry,” Caitlin said, “you know that’s not true right? That you’re so much more than just the Flash?”

“Oh yeah, don’t worry, I’ve had enough villains say that now that I’ve learned to just ignore it,” Barry answered honestly. They’d been through so much together now that he knew his friends would be with him no matter what, speed or no speed.

“Good. Hmm, okay we’ll have to try and think of something else to counteract her powers next time then,” Caitlin said, pensively, “It seems having the ability to use your speed is the only way we’ll stop her with her added fighting capabilities.”

“Okay dude, now the part where you’re you know, not dead?”

“Ah yeah… well, you may not believe this but I was sorta… healed… by a vampire.”

Cisco’s eyes went wide while Caitlin just looked on with curiosity playing across her face.

“Vampire blood has very potent healing affects, like you experienced it can save a person who is mere moments from death. I’ve read many studies about its uses and the affects it can have,” Caitlin said, she looked like she wanted to say more but wasn’t sure if she should.

“Who was it Barry, did you know them? From what I’ve heard vampires don’t just go around saving random strangers dying on the streets. Aren’t they more likely to, well… go around feeding on people and killing them?” Cisco asked curiously.

“Let’s just say I knew who it was and as for the rest, I have no idea. Look guys I’d love to get into a discussion about all this, but right now I’d love to just sleep. Hopefully my powers will be back by morning based on the calculations you guys did and I’ll be feeling a lot better. We can pick this up some other time.”

Caitlin especially looked like she had a whole suite of questions to ask Barry about being up close with a vampire but she kept quiet. Barry was grateful, he didn’t feel like going through a load of medical questions right now.

“Of course, Barry,” Caitlin said sweetly, “rest is the best thing for you right now. Would you like me to drop you home?”

“Please, if that’s okay.”

“No trouble at all.”

**********

When Barry got home, Joe was still up watching some tv and lounging on the sofa. It wasn’t even that late, just gone 10pm but Barry felt like it may as well be 4am. Joe had a worried look on his face (like he always did after Barry got home from fighting crime).

“Hey Barr, tough night?” Joe asked.

“Yeah you could say that, but don’t worry I’m totally fine.” It wasn’t a complete lie, he was actually fine _now._

“Okay. Anything I need to know about? I’m assuming this has to do with this new metahuman, Scott, terrorising the streets.” Joe’s tone was casual but Barry sensed he was still anxious about the night’s events.

“I will totally explain everything tomorrow Joe, but right now I feel like I need to go and sleep for a week, or you know at least the whole night. I’ll see you at work tomorrow and go through it all.” Barry didn’t really feel like relaying the events of the night for a second time.

“Okay, Barr. Goodnight, you stay safe out there.”

“Night, Joe. And thanks.” Barry answered with a warm smile.

He then dashed upstairs and slumped down on his bed, absolutely exhausted. He may have vampire blood coursing through is system but that didn’t stop the emotional exhaustion. He changed into pyjamas and crawled under the covers for a well-earned rest and sweet dreams. What he didn’t expect were the dreams that did come.

**********

Barry arrived at the old warehouse and looked around to check he was alone. He stalked inside and found Snart lying on the sofa.

“Barry, I wondered how long it would take you to show up. How did you find me?”

“I have my ways Snart and besides I could literally run around the entire city in minutes until I found you,” Barry replied smugly.

“I prefer Len, actually. So what did you come here for then?” Len asked casually, still lying on the sofa.

Barry stalked closer and Len swung his legs off the sofa so he was sitting upright now.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” Barry said.

“Go on.” Barry visibly swallowed before he continued speaking.

“Every time I close my eyes you’re there, I can’t stop thinking about your mouth and hands and oh god, just everything. I need you, need this...”

Barry closed the distance between them and dropped on to the sofa to straddle Len. He grabbed at the front of Len’s shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. Mouths hot and vying for dominance which Barry let Len take. Barry broke them part and his hands started working to undo Len’s jeans. He was annoyed that he couldn’t push them down with Len still sat on the sofa. Len shifted up slightly so that Barry could roughly push the fabric down the other man’s thighs. All the time touching and tracing skin with intrepid fingers. They continued kissing, hot and needy and Barry ground his erection down into Len’s lap, both men rocking into each other. Len flung Barry on to the sofa, pulled his jeans the rest of the way off and then straddled his waist. Nipping and biting lightly at his neck, collarbone and ear lobes. Barry whined and moaned under him. Len undid Barry’s jeans and pushed his underwear down just enough to free his aching cock. Barry shuddered as Len took him in hand before descending his mouth-

Barry woke with a start and bolted up in bed, panting hard and sweating. He was very confused but also incredibly aroused and painfully hard. He pulled up the covers to check and saw that his pyjama bottoms were unmistakably tented and there was a wet patch on the front of the red fabric. Barry had never had a dream quite like that. And to top it all off he having a sex dream about Captain Cold no less! Barry needed answers from Len but he was almost worried about what may happen.

That day at work Barry was very tired as he had definitely not got as much sleep as he would have liked. He’d gone over last night’s events with Joe that morning and had said that team Flash were going to do everything they could to help catch and stop Neutraliser. He may have left out the full extent of his injuries, and that he nearly died and that he was healed with vampire blood. He really didn’t want to have to deal with Joe asking all about the vampire who saved Barry. Especially not now Barry had experienced a very vivid sex dream about the man. He’d then received an earful from Singh about reports that he wanted by the end of the day and various other samples that needed to be urgently processed.

Barry’s speed had fully returned now so he was able to type up the reports in record time and hand them to the captain well before the end of the day. He also sped through all the bits of evidence processing that he could, leaving his schedule pretty clear. So during a quiet patch in the afternoon he found himself dosing off on his desk.

**********

Len’s hands were moving over his body, stroking and caressing the pale planes of his back and chest. They were on the floor this time, on a big pile of blankets and cushions. Barry wasn’t sure where. Both men were naked and Len was now licking long strips up Barry’s back as he lay on his stomach. This encounter was a lot less rushed and a lot more sensual. Len’s cock rubbed against his back when he pressed in close to kiss Barry. He was practically draped over Barry now, nibbling at his neck and pressing kisses to his shoulder blades. Len’s mouth moved down lower to kiss Barry’s back. Lower still to bite and kiss Barry’s ass cheeks before his tongue-

Barry jolted awake and looked around worriedly but thankfully he was alone. He was a bit red in the face and his breath was laboured. And once again he was sporting a nearly painful erection; this was so not the place for this to be happening. This needed to stop, whatever Len, no _Snart_ (why was he Len in the dreams?) had done to him he needed it taken away or fixed. He decided to find the man and confront him straight away. Well as soon as he had willed his erection away that was.

**********

Later that night Barry zipped all over the city, searching abandoned warehouses and the like before deciding to try his luck at Saints and Sinners. He entered and scanned the room, his gaze settling upon the man, _vampire_ , settled in one of the booths to his left. Barry took a deep breath and walked over. As he approached Snart looked up and caught his gaze and smirked like he always did.

“So Barry, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I think you know why I’m here”, Barry said, irritation present in his voice, “You know what your blood did to me and I need you to fix it, now!”

Snart let out a low chuckle which Barry frowned at.

“Sorry Red, it’s not quite that easy. I didn’t actually _do_ anything to you _per se_ , except save your life of course. You’re welcome by the way,” Snart said sarcastically. “The dreams and fantasies are a side effect of vampire blood; it causes a bond between two people and makes the giver desirable to the receiver.” Barry raised an eyebrow at that particular choice of words. “The dreams will fade with time but until then, I’d say just enjoy it while you can.”

Len winked.

Barry couldn’t believe this was happening, how long was he going to have to suffer intense erotic dreams about his nemesis and wake up with unwanted erections? And what did he mean by connection?

 “How long will this last?” Barry asked sharply.

“Well, you drank quite a lot of my blood. Even your fast metabolism won’t help this time. So I’d say a fair few days, until the blood is completely out of your system. However even after that we will still have a connection.”

“What kind of a connection?”

“It’s a psychic and emotional bond that will allow me to locate you and sense your emotions and sense if you are in danger,” Len said nonchalantly.

Barry scoffed.

“Right, so we’re stuck like this then. And you can find me whenever you want?” Barry said with the slightest hint of fear slipping into his tone.

“Relax Red, I’m not going to ambush you at S.T.A.R. labs or while we’re fighting. I have way too much fun going up against you to want to stop that.”

Strangely it made Barry feel better. At least Snart wasn’t planning on finding him and killing him whenever he wanted. Which if he’d have thought about it before would have been obvious by the fact he hadn’t been left for dead and Snart had actually saved him. Still, this meant more suffering through the dreams which he really didn’t want. Sure Snart wasn’t bad looking and maybe Barry had thought about him when he was– no, he was his nemesis! He needed to stop that train of thought right there.

“Well then, I guess I still owe you proper thanks for saving my life. So thank you Snart,” Barry said sincerely, never thinking he would say those words in his life.

“Anytime kid. Can’t have the city’s precious hero getting taken out now can we. Oh, and if you ever want to turn those dreams into a reality, you know where to find me.”

Barry blushed even though he was pretty sure Snart was joking, he wouldn’t actually want someone like Barry anyway. Barry got up to leave the booth then paused.

“If I ever want to know more about any of this… ” he gestured between him and Snart.

“Then you know where to find me Barry,” came Snart’s response.

Barry then turned and made to exit the bar at normal speed before flashing off as soon as he was out of sight.

**********

That night was no better.

Len’s dexterous cool fingers glided over Barry’s chest like they were mapping every inch of his body. He felt like his skin was on fire. Barry was laid out beneath him, naked and very hard. But Len was teasing him, really taking his time this time. He nipped at Barry’s ear lobe and neck, gently, sensually. Light kisses were pressed to Barry’s neck, jaw and collarbones. The kisses moved lower and lower until Len was at his groin.

Without warning he sucked Barry in and licked around the head of his cock. The unexpected sensation hit Barry and he bucked his hips up, cock going deeper into Len’s mouth. Barry’s hands were fisting the sheets either side of him, so overcome by pleasure. Len’s tongue should be illegal Barry thought. Len sucked more of him down and Barry cried out, unable to contain his cries of ecstasy. Barry was receiving the best goddamn blowjob of his life (well actually his first blowjob, but he felt like it couldn’t get better than this) and he couldn’t contain his moans and the noises that were spilling from his mouth. He could feel the sensations travelling through his body and knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. Len’s hands continued their exploration of Barry’s body and gently twisted and pulled on his nipples. That was it. Barry mewled in warning but Len didn’t let up. He continued sucking Barry through his orgasm, really drawing it out, swallowing Barry’s release without question. He pulled off and licked his lips while locking eyes with Barry. It was the hottest thing Barry had ever seen.

**********

The next morning Barry awoke to a very unpleasant and slightly sticky feeling between his legs. He wasn’t hard this time but instead he had come in his pyjamas and the mess was semi-dried and felt awful. He quickly jumped up and hit the shower.

It was a Saturday and he’d promised Caitlin and Cisco that he would come into the labs early today to properly explain all about the vampire who’d saved him (and to let Caitlin carry out whichever tests she wanted). It wasn’t going to go down well, but they were his friends and it was only right that they knew. Iris would also be there as she had demanded to know how Barry could have nearly died and been saved by a vampire and had not told her anything about. Of course she’d found out when she mentioned something to Caitlin. At least Joe didn’t know.

Barry grabbed coffee and pastries for the team and hoped these would soften the blow about the exact identity of Barry’s saviour. He strolled in to the lab and handed out the drinks and food, which they were all very grateful for. They all looked pretty on edge or were they just eager for the details? He guessed the subject of vampires was not exactly one they ever discussed.

“Okay, seeing as how you’re not gonna leave me alone until I tell you. It was Leonard Snart, our very own Captain Cold. He saved my life.”

 Caitlin gasped, Cisco cursed loudly and Iris spluttered after just having taken a drink of coffee.

“So he’s… wow,” Iris said in amazement.

“I knew there was something off about him!” Cisco declared.

“Well, I was not quite expecting that,” Caitlin stated, “So have the dreams started yet then?”

Barry froze and went red. Caitlin’s eyes went wide in realisation of what she’s just said out loud.

“Dreams?” Cisco and Iris said in unison.

“What’s she talking about Barry?” Iris asked.

“Oh, erm… uh, well-”

“As you know vampire blood has very strong healing capabilities. When given to a human it creates a bond between the vampire and human and one of the side effects is vivid dreams of a particularly erotic nature,” Caitlin cut in, in a matter of fact tone.

Of course she would know all about vampire blood and its properties. She’d probably read a great deal about the medical applications of it. And of course discussing this wouldn’t even faze her!

“Dude! You’re having sexy dreams about Cold?” Cisco remarked.

“I don’t want the dreams!” Barry defended, “They just happen!”

“So what’s he like Barry, in the dreams you know?” Iris asked, sounding way more interested than she should.

“Wha- that’s what you want to know about? Nope, this is not happening. No one else wants to know that! We’re not discussing this!”

“Normally this would totally be a tmi situation, but I’m kind of morbidly curious. Dude is a vamp after all. I’ve heard they have like crazy stamina,” Cisco said.

Caitlin looked at Cisco and raised an eyebrow.

“What? Come on, don’t tell me you don’t wanna know… for science?”

“Cisco, adding ‘for science’ on to things does not mean I am just going to go along with it. However I must admit that I am also… intrigued. By which I mean I’ve heard a lot of varying stories about vampires and it would be good to get some truth on the matter,” Caitlin responded.

“Okay fine, fine. Honestly I thought you’d be angrier about it being Cold, but whatever. Just remember you asked for this,” Barry

Barry took a deep breath.

“The dreams happen whenever I fall asleep, in bed, at work, wherever, even if I’m just day dreaming. And yes they are very vivid and explicit and okay, it feels good, I mean better than good, like the best thing ever. Like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, which, well it is. And Snart is, uh… skilled, his fingers, his tongue… But then I wake up and it’s just more of an inconvenience?”

“Snart said the dreams should be gone soon, so I don’t have to worry too much longer. So there’s not much more to say than that. And they’ve stopped before anything really gets going, except for last night. But I am not going into detail about that!” Barry finished.

“Wait, when did you go and see Snart?” asked Iris.

“Umm, last night. I needed answers about all of this. I didn’t know what vampire blood did to people so I assumed he’d done something to me and I wanted it fixed. But obviously there’s nothing _to_ fix and I just have to wait it out,” Barry responded.

All three of them shared looks, but didn’t say anything more on the matter.

“Okay Barr, but next time you nearly die, you tell me okay? I’m not dad, I’m not gonna freak out and even if it involved a supervillain, I would wanna know the truth. I have to go and I don’t want to hear second hand again that a metahuman nearly got the better of you for good,” Iris said.

“Sure, Iris.”

She left the lab after hugging everyone goodbye. Barry remembered that they still needed to come up with a way to stop Neutraliser from taking out his speed again.

“So, any news on how we’re gonna stop Neutraliser? I know things were quiet on that front yesterday but she’s bound to come back in full force. Especially if she actually believes she killed the Flash,” Barry asked hopefully.

“We’ve got some ideas about a possible serum we could use, but honestly we’re not sure it will work. Especially as she has two very distinct powers, It might not work how we intend or at all,” Caitlin said.

“We tried to come up with alternative suit modifications as well but it needs to be something she can’t destroy if she gets the jump on you again,” Cisco commented.

**********

The next couple of days flew by in a blur of piles and piles of paperwork at the precinct, hours spent with Caitlin wanting to run various tests on Barry and his blood and various smaller crimes that needed stopping throughout the city. Scott or Neutraliser as they used most of the time had still not popped back up on their radar though and progress with how to stop her was taking time.

The dreams had not stopped either, if anything they were getting worse. They seemed to be lasting longer and Barry started to not hate them so much and just accepted that they would stop soon enough. He was becoming more and more curious though about vampires as a whole and what was and wasn’t true of the very limited mythology that he knew.

**********

It was five days after Barry’s fight when Neutraliser surfaced again. This time she was trying to attack one of the large corporation buildings in the centre of the city, to what end no-one could quite tell, but she had to be stopped and this was the perfect opportunity. However Barry knew from the last time that it would not be an easy fight. So he did the only sensible thing he could think of. He called Leonard Snart for help. Which in reality involved calling Lisa and passing the phone to Len, because apparently Cisco had her number somehow?

Len would have been reluctant to help any of these so called superheroes less than a week ago, but seeing Barry lying like that, on the ground lifeless with blood all around, had resonated with him somehow and he knew he didn’t ever want to see the kid like that again. And after all, his powers couldn’t be blocked like Barry’s. So he agreed to help, sounding only somewhat reluctant. He had an image to uphold after all. Couldn’t have people thinking he’d gone soft over the Flash.

It was dark out and the police were already making their way to the scene when Barry flashed off. The CCPD were ushering people out of the vicinity and clearing the area around the building. Len met Barry around the back of the building. Cisco and Caitlin had created handcuffs which would subdue her metahuman powers so she could be taken to the CCPD. They had also lined the Flash suit with a material that should interrupt any energy fields around Barry so that he could maintain his connection to the speed force throughout the fight.

The Flash and Captain Cold made their way around to the front of the building where Neutraliser was shouting and hurling objects at the building’s front, clearing not caring that her superhuman strength would now be public knowledge. Barry could’ve sworn a momentary shocked expression graced her face at seeing him alive and well, after the state she’d left him in.  

“Aw, Flash so nice of you to show up. And look you’ve brought a little friend along too,” Scott teased.

“Scott, this needs to stop now. Central City is not your playground and you can’t just go around killing and not facing the consequences. This ends here, today. You’re not getting away again.”

Barry started by whipping around and dodging any attacks that she threw out. Len hung back for now, as per the plan. After all, the cold gun hitting Barry would not be advantageous in this circumstance. Barry’s plan was to tire Neutraliser out enough that getting the cuffs on her would not be a problem and she’d be easier to handle for the CCPD. It was working so far and Barry could see her visibly tire, but in that moment he started to feel drained himself. Unusual as he hadn’t been exerting himself really. It was enough to cause Barry to be off his game and slow down enough that he didn’t dodge a punch to the head. Barry went down, out cold.

**********

Len darted over to check Barry’s breathing from his more secluded position. Once satisfied that the kid was still alive, Len turned back to Scott. He used a combination of his vampiric strength and speed to incapacitate her. She seemed surprised that he had powers which were still working, obviously unaware that these powers had nothing to do with dark matter and the particle accelerator.

Len continued the fight until she was on the floor, obviously doubling over in pain. There were certain situations when Len made an exception for violence if it was for the greater good, or if it was personal. The fact that incapacitating her enough so she could be put away and never kill or harm again, was definitely one of those situations. He fired up the cold gun and blasted her feet so she couldn’t move. He then pulled the special handcuffs from Barry’s suit and cuffed her.

“I should kill you, believe me I want to,” Len said in full Captain Cold drawl, “The _only_ reason that’s not going to happen is because I don’t need to be associated with a metahuman death. Far too much heat for my liking.”

She scoffed, lip bloodied and spilt. Face not looking much better.

“If I ever hear you making any threats towards the Flash or me, I will come for you, you have my word on that,” Len snarled.

She tried to speak, probably some snide remark, but only managed to cough instead.

Powers safely subdued with the handcuffs, Len ran with her and threw her into a CCPD van forming part of the large perimeter around the building and surrounding area. He slipped back away just as a few officers started to crowd round the van.

Len was back in no time at all, he was nowhere near as fast as the Flash but still a lot faster than any human. Barry was still out cold, lying on the ground. He’d probably have a concussion if that punch hit as hard as he thought it did, or at least a bad headache. Barry’s communication system was exploding with shouts and questions, clearly the others could see his vital signs at the labs.

“Scott or whatever you call her is dealt with and the kid’s fine. Just took a bad punch and is out cold. I’m taking him home to make sure he’s okay,” Len yelled. He switched the comms off after that, not wanting to deal with any more questions.

Len picked Barry up and zipped him back to his house. The building was in an okay part of town. Nice enough that cops didn’t particularly come looking around all too often but not too nice of an area that people were overly friendly and knew everyone’s business.

He laid Barry down on the sofa, trying to make the kid as comfortable as possible. He pulled off the Flash cowl but left the suit on. For some reason Len hated seeing the kid like this, dammit when had he started caring! He supposed it had something to do with him sensing Barry’s emotions and feeling a responsibility for Barry now that he’d created this bond between them.

Len let Barry be and went to retrieve a blood pouch from his store to feed after the fight. He also changed and put away the parka, cold gun and goggles.

 When he re-entered the living room Barry was stirring.

“Ergh…, where am I? Snart…?”

“Call me Len, Barry. And you’re safe at my house. You were knocked unconscious after the fight and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Why didn’t you just take me back to the labs then?”

“As much as I would have loved a confrontation with the good detective,” he drawled, “I felt it better if you rested away from all the commotion and questions of the labs. Plus my place was closer.”

“Oh, uh yeah that makes sense. So what about Neutraliser?”

“Taken care of.”

“You didn’t…”

“No Barry, this was all above board. As much as I would have loved to seek revenge for what she did to you. I don’t need the heat with her mysteriously turning up dead.” Len lied. He couldn’t actually admit to Barry that the reason he’d spared her was because he didn’t want to see the look on Barry’s face when he found out and he didn’t want Barry look at him like some monster.

Barry rubbed at his eyes and then touched his head, searching for the sore area.

“Did I get knocked out? My head is throbbing but I don’t really remember.”

“You did. You slowed enough that she got a good shot in and you hit the ground. She was tough, it’s not surprising you were feeling it.”

Barry’s stomach then rumbled loudly and he huffed out a laugh.

“Or it could be that I didn’t eat enough today,” Barry said decisively. “I’ve been so busy that I completely forgot to eat earlier! I didn’t even think about it until now! Uhh I’m such an idiot.”

“I take it you have to consume an above average amount of food to maintain your metabolism?” Len had learned a thing or two about certain powers in his time.

“Yeah you could say that. Anyway I’ll get out of your hair and get some food.”

“You don’t have to leave. I said I’d make sure you were okay and I will. You’ve probably got a mild concussion at least or even if you don’t I don’t want you to faint on your way home. I’ll order you some food.”

“What? Oh no, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.”

Another loud grumble.

“Look I told your team I was gonna make sure you were alright. And besides people with head wounds really shouldn’t be left alone. So, what do you feel like?”

Barry considered his options. He was very hungry and it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever to stay for a bit and talk to Snart, _Len_. He still had some questions after all about the whole vampire thing.

“Erm, Pizza? Wherever is good, but I eat a lot and I don’t have any money on-”

“Red, don’t worry about it. It’s on me. Perk of being a vampire, you save a hell of a lot of money on food.”

“Umm, thanks Len.” That felt weird, the name too familial and thanking him yet again for something.

Len ordered the pizzas for Barry and said they wouldn’t take too long.

“Thanks again. And you know for helping apprehend Neutraliser.”

“No problem.”

Barry looked like he wanted to say or ask for something but wasn’t sure if he should.

“Yes Scarlet?”

“Umm, I mean don’t worry if it’s too weird. But have you maybe got any clothes I could borrow? The suit isn’t exactly for sitting around eating.” Barry let out a strained laugh.

“Sure, kid. Be right back,” Len ascended the stairs to his bedroom, “By the way, bathroom is down the hall, first on the right if you need it.”

“Thanks.”

Len opened his wardrobe and pulled out some loose fitting sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt. He brought them back downstairs and Barry appreciably took the clothing and zipped to the bathroom to get changed. He strolled out not a minute later with the flash suit draped over his arm, and damn did Len like the sight of Barry in his clothes.

Len laid out the suit over the back of one of the chairs and then joined Barry on the large sofa.

“What do you want to know Barry? I said I’d answer any questions you had.”

Barry looked up slightly confused as he hadn’t said anything out loud, forgetting Len could now sense his emotions when he wanted.

“How did it happen? You totally don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal or you just don’t want to but, I’m curious,” Barry said sincerely.

“It’s okay kid. I need to put it in context so it’s quite a long and not very nice story; tell me if you want me to stop.” Barry nodded eyes downcast. Len steeled himself to relive the tale again, as much as he hated thinking about what had happened he felt he owed Barry the awful truth.

“Obviously you know about Lisa and I having a pretty rough childhood thanks to dear old dad. We assumed when he went away for good we wouldn’t ever see him again. Turns out he wasn’t exactly where we thought he was. Instead of prison he was being held by a vampire group that he’d committed some crime or another against and was their long term prisoner. Years in, he was given a choice of death or to join them and he chose to become one of them,

“However, they weren’t gonna let him off easy but having him as one of them was advantageous. So the old man escapes them somehow and winds up here. Before we can do anything about it he gets the drop on me and Lisa. Next thing we know, we both wake up with an intense hunger and feeling completely different in our own bodies. You guessed it, the bastard decided to turn the both of us as some sort of punishment or crap like that. He had a great speech at the time but I didn’t care to listen.”

Barry listened intently and found himself scooting minutely closer to Len on the sofa.

“That’s not the worst of it though. See the _Maker_ can also command his _Progeny_ to do whatever he wants and they have to obey.” Len stopped for a minute to steady his breath, trying to not let emotion slip into his voice and instead remain neutral.

“He commanded us to go out and feed and kill and just to take and take and not care about the lives we were taking or the people we were feeding on. We had no choice and the result was an awful bloody, killing spree which made us feel sick afterwards. Yes I’ve killed before, in self-defence but never like that. Never for fun, never people who didn’t deserve it. After that day we both vowed never to kill again and be careful with feeding and only ever take blood that was willingly given.”

“Len, I’m so sorry.” He gave Barry a weak smile.

“You’ve probably heard enough. I know what I am, Barry. There’s a reason most people are terrified of my kind. What I’ve done can never be forgiven. I just needed you to know,” Len concluded.

“I appreciate that. But just know I don’t blame you, how could I? You physically couldn’t say no. Okay, I don’t know what your situation was like, but I sure as hell know what it’s like to not be able to stop something and feel so horrified by your actions that you hate yourself for it.” Barry paused. “I’d like to hear the rest, if that’s okay?”

Len looked to Barry and didn’t see a horrified look. Just a look of understanding. Barry’s emotions didn’t portray any feeling like hate or disgust. Len felt guilty even just taping in to Barry’s emotions like that but he needed to try and make sense of this all. He decided he may as well finish the story. At least it got better from here on out. Len nodded his head and continued.

“It didn’t take long after that for the vampires he’d escaped to come looking and when they did, let’s just say they were less than pleased with what they found. Our kind tries to stay as hidden as we can and what he caused was less than subtle. The old man was taken back with them and killed. We could both feel when the bond was broken. I tried to control the hunger but it was so strong for the first few days. I took Lisa with me and we went to Saints to try and find someone to feed from. Minutes after entering, this guy comes over and says he knows why we’re there and what we’re looking for and says he can help. That was Mick.”

Len gave Barry a minute to let that sink in before carrying on.

“Mick Rory is also a vampire? Woah and here was me thinking there weren’t many in Central,” Barry exclaimed.

“There’s a few around. Anyway, Mick took us to this bar a couple of towns over where people were willing to let vampires feed from them. Pretty much saved us from ourselves. After that it was much easier to control the cravings with regular feedings. Mick helped us through the whole process from controlling our feeding to learning about our abilities. So fast forward several years and here we are.”

Barry stared for a moment before he spoke up.

“So do you, ah, still feed… from humans?” Barry asked tentatively.

Len huffed out a laugh with his trademark smirk.

“Don’t worry kid, you’re not at risk here. I don’t feed from humans anymore. About four months into being turned I made a good contact at the hospital, someone who owed me from an old job, who can supply both Lisa and I with blood pouches which do the exact same job.”

“Oh, that’s, uh… good I guess. That you found something that works for you I mean.”

“And speaking of eating…” Len said after the doorbell rang.

Len got up, walked to the door and took the stack of pizzas, ignoring the questioning look from the delivery girl. It wasn’t exactly like delivering 4 pizzas to just two people was a common thing.  He put them down on the coffee table and told Barry to tuck in.

“Oh thank god. Man that’s good pizza. Thank you again.”

“Pleasure, Scarlet.”   

Len flicked on a sitcom and the two sat in silence for a while, just watching tv. Barry ate through a good amount of the pizza fairly quickly and felt instantly better for it.

“Thanks again for the pizza and making sure I was okay. I should probably go now, it’s late and I don’t want to overstay my welcome,” Barry said.

“No problem, kid but I’m not gonna kick you out either, you can stay a bit longer if you want?”

Barry couldn’t be sure but it almost sounded like Len wanted him to stay and more so, didn’t want to be alone. Thoughts about Len then started whizzing round in Barry’s head. What was it really like being a vampire? Was it a lonely existence? Sure he had Lisa and Mick but did he have anyone else? Was the flirting and cockiness all just an act to hide something more?

Len stared at Barry and he realised Len must be able to sense his currently conflicting emotions. He wasn’t uncomfortable being around Len like this and didn’t want to leave Len all by himself.

“Uh, yeah sure. I just didn’t want to inconvenience you was all. But I’ll stay. It’s been… nice.” Barry smiled warmly and Len nodded before turning back towards the tv.

The next hour passed with idle chatter about whatever they were watching and a brief discussion about how relived Barry now was that the metahuman causing them so much grief had finally been caught.

“Okay, it’s definitely late now and I feel like I could sleep for a week.” Barry piped up.

“Sure, think it’s safe to say you’re not gonna faint again. Be seeing you, Barry,” Len said as he got up off the sofa to open the door for Barry.

Barry paused a moment.

“You’re not quite what I was expecting. I mean this-”, he gestured to the room and pizza boxes, “was really great and kind of a nice change. I guess you aren’t the hard faced criminal I was expecting after all.”

Len laughed softly. “People can always surprise you Scarlet. But I’m glad you just needed food and weren’t badly injured. Couldn’t have Central’s favourite hero off the streets for a couple of days could we? Who knows what fiendish crimes might ensue.”

Len pulled out his signature smirk.

“Oh uh, the suit and I’m still wearing your clothes.” Barry walked to grab it from the chair.

“Just give them back next time,” Len said.

“Next time? I mean, yeah sure. I do still have questions. And thanks for telling me about it all. That can’t have been easy and I do appreciate it.” Barry smiled brightly. “Goodnight Len.”

“Night, Barry.”

*********

When Barry got home and into bed his mind relayed the evening’s events. Leonard Snart was definitely not what he was expecting under the persona. Under all the harsh edges was a man who had been through hell and still come out of it. Sure he’d made some questionable life choices but Barry could see past that, to the man who was obviously quite lonely in this world given what he was and most people’s reactions to vampires. If Barry could help him in any way, he was willing to try.

Barry then remembered that he was still having intense sex dreams about the man and yeah that was not going to help.

**********

This dream started off quite differently to the others. Normally Len was doing all the work and Barry was just taking but this time, they were both equally involved. Both men were lying on the floor, on top of a big blanket. They were both on their sides, completely naked, lying in opposite directions. Slowly Barry held Len’s hard cock and started sucking gently. Len did the same to Barry. Both men were then giving blowjobs to the other at the same time. Barry felt overwhelmed, simultaneously giving and receiving was hotter than anything he could have imagined. He came quickly, quicker than he even would normally and didn’t have time to warn Len. Thankfully Len just carried on sucking Barry through it, not even fazed when the first spurts of Barry’s release graced his throat. Barry’s brain shorted out for a second before he remembered that he too had a dick in his mouth, one that he was now neglecting. Barry sucked as much of Len in as he could and started to suck and lick while using his hand to touch what he couldn’t fit in his mouth. Len made a sound of warning and Barry was ready when Len came down his throat, filling his mouth with a salty tang.

**********

Barry woke to the same feeling of a sticky mess, cooling in his boxers. Not again, this was getting silly now. He was 26, not a damn 16 year old that couldn’t control it.

As he roused more from his sleep, parts of the dream came back to him. He wasn’t sure why dream him gave such good blowjobs when he’d never even touched a dick in his life but Len clearly appreciated it. And what was it with the 69 position?! These dreams were getting worse and worse. Why did Len’s blood have to give him sex dreams? Were all vampires just crazy horny sex machines or something?  

 **********

The next day Barry was at STAR labs, Cisco and Caitlin were all over him asking questions about Len. Understandable really, the last thing they were told was that the man who’d once tried to bring the flash down and had reluctantly agreed to help them was now taking an unconscious speedster back to his house to look after him. Of course they had questions.

“So what happened after the fight? Did Snart ask to feed from you? Did he do some weird glamour thing to you? Did he-”

“Cisco!” Caitlin sternly cut Cisco off. “Sounds like you’ve been watching too many vampire films. Why don’t we actually let Barry explain, before we jump to any conclusions here?”

“Okay, fine. Barry?” Cisco conceded.

“Well there was definitely no feeding. I can tell you that much. I don’t remember what happened when I got knocked out, but I remember feeling lightheaded, which I later realised was because I hadn’t eaten enough. And yes before you say anything, I know that was stupid but I was so caught up with trying to think about how to take down Neutraliser and I just forgot. Len dealt with her actually as she couldn’t block his powers and took her to the CCPD, which I’m guessing you know anyway. The next thing I remembered was waking up on a sofa and seeing Len in the room.”

“So what else happened at Cold’s lair? And when did he become Len?”

“Really Cisco?” Barry raised an eyebrow at him.

“What? Vampires have lairs, it’s a valid question.”

“Well, Len, as he said I should call him, had a nice house not a dark lair hidden in a crypt,” Barry saw Cisco open his mouth to speak again. “And no coffins either!” Cisco looked put out at that.

“He was literally nothing like Vampires on film Cisco. Just a guy, who helped me no less. He’s really not all that bad either,” Barry face softened into a slight smile, remembering last night. “He got me some food and we sat and chatted, I had some questions about all of this and he answered them.”

“What did he tell you, Barry?” Caitlin asked.

“Well, he and Lisa were both turned when their father, Lewis, came back into their lives. I’m not entirely sure how long ago. He commanded them to do awful things, feeding and killing with no regards for anything or anyone. Len still hasn’t gotten over a lot of it I think and it kind of haunts him. Sounds like they had it pretty rough to start with and then they found Mick Rory, who is also a vampire and he helped them control themselves and things got better.”

“So Golden Glider and Heatwave are vamps too?!”

“Yes Cisco,” Barry answered.

“I know how you guys feel about him given the fact that he’s a criminal and has tried to hurt me in the past, and I’m not asking you to like him. But listening to him, it was just awful some of the things he told me. He never wanted to be a vampire at the end of the day. But he’s not like others as far as I can tell; he doesn’t drink from humans and generally tries to keep as low a profile as possible and he doesn’t kill. Him and Lisa both, he was very clear on that point,” Barry finished.

Of course Barry didn’t expect them to just forgive Len right away but he felt that at least if they knew a little of the truth that might help. He may not have hurt them directly but causing pain to Barry was enough.  

Caitlin looked at Barry with something akin to sympathy on her face. “Barry, that’s awful. It sounds like their father was an even worse monster than we could have imagined, first hurting them as children and then again as adults? No-one should go through anything like that, regardless of who they are. And I’m glad he looked after you after the fight, even if we couldn’t be there for you.”

Cisco looked up at Barry next. “Obviously, being a criminal was still a choice he made but that is a pretty shitty situation. Having a father like that couldn’t have been easy and having no control over what you’re doing, yeah that’s terrible. So I’m not saying I wanna be his best friend _,_ but maybe he’ll be not all that bad and might even be willing to help us out from time to time.”   

“And maybe, finding out accurate information about vampires is kinda cool.” A smile crept on to Cisco’s face. “So, did he mention anything about reflections, garlic, crosses, that sort of thing?”

Barry laughed at how easily the subject Cisco was talking about could change. All seriousness one minute then back to crazy questions again. Caitlin rolled her eyes and made her way to the med room to carry on her work.

“No, we didn’t really discuss anything like that, I guess I can ask though?”

“What about what he eats, I mean obviously blood but can he eat normal food? And what about specific powers, I’ve heard some vampires can fly and read minds?”

Barry chuckled. “Cisco, stop. I really don’t know about any of that stuff. If I find out I’ll let you know.”

“Okay, dude. So,” Cisco sidled up closer to Barry and kept his voice low, “are you still having those dreams?”

“I’m leaving. I’ll check back in soon.” Barry called out before speeding off to avoid any more of Cisco’s questions.

**********

Barry’s dreams continued every night and every time he fell asleep during the day. It seemed vampire blood was pretty potent stuff. However over the past couple of days the dreams had changed a little. They were less full on sex and more intimate and if Barry was being honest, kinda nice, well parts of the dreams at least. He liked the closeness he felt to Len in them, something he hoped to one day have with someone.

The most recent one was Len worshipping Barry’s body with delicately placed kisses to every inch of his body. Barry had felt like his skin was on fire everywhere Len touched him. Like electricity sparked where skin met skin and he melted into the feel of Len’s lips. Then Len had pounded him into the bed and made Barry nearly scream himself hoarse as he rode out wave after wave of intense pleasure. So Barry still had mixed feelings about the dreams.   

The dreams started to fade after another few days, although not before Barry was well aware of dream Len’s crazy stamina when it came to sex. And okay, he was a little curious about that, even if he could do without some of the imagery.

If he was being honest since the whole thing with Len saving his life had started, he’d gotten more and more curious about vampires in general and their powers and abilities. He felt himself, almost inexplicably being pulled into Len’s world. Of course Caitlin knew a great deal already but Barry wanted to find out more from an actual vampire. He thought back to Cisco’s line of questioning in the labs and realised he knew very little still.

Barry also kept thinking back to how nice it had been to just hang out and chat with Len. Really nothing like he thought Len would be under the whole ‘Captain Cold’ persona.  

So Barry decided to once again seek Len out. He thought about just flashing to the man’s house but then decided that was a little intrusive. So instead he went to Saints and Sinners in the hopes of finding Len there. He’d barely stepped through the door, when he spotted Len, sat in his usual booth. Len looked up to meet his gaze but his expression remained neutral.

Barry slid into the booth across from him.

“Evening Barry. Let me guess, something you need?” Len asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Actually, I was wondering if we could talk again. You know like the other night?” Len’s expression remained neutral once more and Barry was suddenly wary that he’d overstepped some kind of boundary or said the wrong thing.

“Think this conversation requires a more private setting, don’t you?” Len’s flirtatious tone was back again. Barry felt himself blush a little, even though he knew the tone was most likely only used for anyone overhearing them. Barry reminded himself that Len had a certain reputation after all.

“Yeah. Good idea.”

They exited the building and Len walked them to an alley behind the building so Barry could flash them both to Len’s house without being seen.

**********

Len thought his vampire speed was fast but Barry was just something else entirely. The trip felt incredibly thrilling even though it lasted all of a couple of minutes.

Once inside Len told Barry to make himself at home and offered him a drink. He may no longer eat food on a regular basis but he could still enjoy a cold beer at least. Barry declined the alcohol and opted for just water instead.

“Here I’ve got your clothes that I borrowed last time,” Barry said handing Len the bag.

“Thanks,” Len said placing the bag beside the sofa, “So what did you want to talk about?”

“Well mainly, there’s a whole plethora of lore about vampires out there and I was wondering if it would be okay to ask you about some stuff? You know, get the facts from someone in the know?”

“Sure Red, ask away. Although I can’t promise you’ll like all the answers. It’s not quite like in the books and movies, well not all of it at least.”

“Okay umm starting pretty cliché here. So what’s the deal with like garlic, silver, crosses etc? Any truth in that stuff? Also sunlight?” Barry asked.

“Garlic does nothing, same as crosses and holy water. Silver irritates us but doesn’t burn our skin. Sunlight however,” Len paused for a moment and shifted on the sofa, “That definitely hurts us, hence why all my windows are covered. We can be exposed to a little but it generally never ends well. That and a wooden stake to the heart are pretty much the only ways to kill one of us.”

Talking about how he could be killed didn’t exactly fill Len with joy, but he wanted to honest with Barry. Telling Barry about the sunlight was worse though. He hated that part the most, being confined to the night, no longer able to see a sunrise, all those little things that had been taken away from him.

“Huh, that’s interesting. Weird how so many books and stuff have conflicting ideas then.”

“Some come close but it’s the same with any myth or legend. Ideas get changed and confused over the years. Sure people know vampires exist but they don’t exactly know a great deal about us, kind of better in a way. Most would never even know if they met one.”

“Oh, yeah I guess staying hidden so to speak is better. But don’t you hate that people assume vampires are these awful monsters, just because they don’t know the truth?”

That hit Len harder than it should have. He knew what he was but Barry seemed to see him in a different light. Why was the kid not afraid of him? Even his emotions didn’t betray him. Barry wasn’t scared and as far as Len could tell there was no fear or anything bad there at all. Len wasn’t sure how he felt about that. What was it about this damn kid? He was so trusting and wanted to just see the good in everyone.

“I stopped caring a long time ago about what people thought of me, not that many actually know what I am. And besides if it keeps people from trying to hunt us down, they can think whatever they like.”

“I guess that makes sense, I mean you don’t exactly want something like how to hurt you becoming common knowledge. And don’t worry I won’t pass any of this on if you don’t want me to,” Barry said.

“It’s fine Barry, your friends at STAR labs certainly keep their fair share of secrets, and I’m assuming they know about me anyway?”

“Oh, umm yeah they do. I told them everything the day after you saved me. I couldn’t really keep that a secret. And they had all these questions-”

“Chill, Scarlet. You had every right to tell them. I took a risk and I knew the consequences. But I also knew that you keep certain things well hidden, so I assumed you knowing my secret wouldn’t be a problem. And you can tell them more about me if you like. Now that you can actually answer some of those questions,” Len replied, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Being open didn’t usually come easy but with Barry, Len felt so at ease, even the thought of Barry’s friends knowing what he was didn’t bother him as much as it should.

Barry didn’t ask any more vampire related questions for the rest of the evening. In fact he started to babble and ramble on about the current things STAR labs were doing and the current metahumans they were tracking. Len couldn’t help but listen intently as Barry talked. Damn he was adorable when he talked about science so passionately and about the good that the Flash was doing in the city. Now was not the time to be getting a crush on his (incredibly attractive) nemesis. As if Barry could ever return those feelings anyway. Len was a vampire and this wouldn’t play out like some trashy teenage romance story.

That night when Barry left Len gave him his number, he said he’d be honest with Barry about all things vampiric and he was a man of his word. He told Barry to arrange something if he wanted to talk again. Barry smiled widely when he said that and Len wasn’t entirely sure why.

*********

Barry met up with Iris for a long overdue catch up a couple of days later. He hoped she wouldn’t bring up anything to do with Len or his blood and the dreams but clearly today was not his day. Barely five minutes into their conversation at Jitters and Iris was asking all sorts of probing questions.

“So I know you kind of gave us the edited version at the labs the other day, but I want the details about these dreams. Come on Barr, spill.”

“Iris, I’m not sure I’m comfortable-”

“You’ve talked to me about sex before. Come on, they’re just dreams right?”

“Well actually you’ve talked to me about it and I’ve nodded and sat there with minimal input. Not sure that counts as me talking.”

Then the Iris pout and puppy dog eyes were out.

“Okay fine, fine. I mean they’ve kinda stopped now or at least they’re not as frequent which I’m thankful for. But in some of the dreams Len had like some crazy stamina, I mean he didn’t really seem to tire, like at all and could, umm you know?”

He hoped Iris would get his meaning without the need to elaborate.

“Ooh he’s Len now is he. So what, he can just basically keep going all night? Is that what you’re telling me?” Iris asked.

“Umm, yeah I guess. The dream didn’t exactly last all night but there were multiples scenes and he just seemed to not need to take a break or umm… cool down.”

“Well well well, that’s a handy power to have then. He must keep dream you very satisfied or tired I guess, keeping up with him,” she said with a smirk.

Barry laughed. “Well I am a speedster, certain perks come with the powers.” Iris raised an eyebrow at him. “And I can’t believe I just said that out loud.” Why did that come out of his mouth, why was he trying to prove he could keep up with a dream version of someone!

“What perks? Why have you not told me this before? Barry Allen, what have you not been telling me about your powers?”

“Nope, no this is getting weird now. See this is real life now and-,” Iris pulled out the puppy dog eyes for the second time.   _Damn it_. “I kinda have no refractory period,” Barry said in a hushed tone, words nearly blurring together and definitely not looking at Iris.

“Oh wow. Well, that’s certainly something. Do Caitlin and Cisco know?”

“What! No! They’d probably make me test it or something if they knew!”

Iris started laughing. As awkward as it was, at least he’d told someone that particular aspect of his powers.

“Can we be done with this subject? Please?” Barry pleaded.

“Okay, okay I won’t pry anymore. But can I just ask one more thing?”

“Sure,” Barry said in defeat, there was no point trying to hide anything else now.

“I know they’re dreams and all but what does it feel like? You know when you’re with him?”

Barry had to think for a moment how to answer that. Sure the dreams had started off as something he really did not want, but then they started to take on a different quality, something less carnal and more intimate. Plus Barry was now starting to regard Len in a whole different light given that he’d not only saved his life, but taken care of him when he was knocked out and now with how open he was being about everything. Barry wasn’t really sure how he felt about it all, how he felt about Len. There was definitely more there than meets the eye.

So he decided to go with the truth for once, it was Iris after all.

“At first it was weird. But the last few dreams were kind of nice, not what happened but how it felt. How Len acted. Which I know isn’t to say that’s how he actually is, but I don’t know he’s just different from what I assumed I guess. I liked feeling that closeness with someone. And the time we’ve spent together and what he’s told me, he’s not had it easy,” Barry lowered his voice, “and with what he is, that brings another load of problems. But I feel like I want to just get to know him. I think he lives in a pretty lonely world, save Lisa and Mick. And it’s not like you meet a vampire every day, especially not one who will answer all my questions.”

“Wow Barry. Sounds like you’ve had a lot of time to think on this. I can’t say it’s not a little _unusual_ for a hero to want to befriend their villain-”

“Nemesis,” Barry cut in.

“Okay, for a hero to want to befriend their _nemesis,_ but I trust you know what you’re doing. He’s hurt people you care about but you seem to think that getting to know him is worth it. So just be careful, yeah?”

“Of course Iris.”

When they parted ways Barry actually felt a little relieved to have told Iris some of the things he did. And talking out loud about Len was nice too, especially as Iris had been so understanding about Len and why Barry wanted to see him again. 

**********

Lisa had told Len that they needed a catch up and apparently it had been far too long since she’d seen him (apparently a couple of weeks counted as _far too long_ in her book). In all honesty he didn’t actually mind. He loved Lisa more than anything and never really tried to hide anything from her, she was far too good at reading him. Len had always been close to Lisa given that he’s practically raised her, but more than that.

They’d grown closer in the years since they were turned, than they had ever been. Len found he opened up to Lisa a lot more, something he never really did with anyone before he was turned. He figured when people go through a traumatic event like that after everything they’d already endured throughout their lives, it can’t help but make those people closer. He felt at ease around Lisa, yes she sometimes asked probing questions, especially about his love life or lack thereof, but she was easy to talk to and at the end of the day it wasn’t like she was ever going to have a problem with what he was.

They sat on his sofa drinking beers and chatting.  

“So Lenny, what have you been doing lately? Anything fun?”

“Define fun, sis?”

“Working with STAR labs and the Flash?”

Lisa was good, he’d give her that.

“Well that got out quickly. Let me guess, you’ve spoken to the Ramon kid?”

“Cisco. And maybe, I wanted to ask him something about my gun and it went from there. He was very helpful filling me in on what you’ve been up to. Sounds like you and the Flash have been getting pretty close, taking him back home with you after a fight. You could at least buy the kid dinner first, Lenny.”

Len tilted his head and raised an eyebrow as if to say really?

“Relax Lenny, you know I’m only joking. Cisco also told me that you saved the Flash’s life a few weeks back, gave him your blood no less. You do know what our blood does to humans right?” She asked sceptically. 

“Yes Lise, of course I know. I know we’ve always been careful about things like that but I didn’t have a lot of choice, he was gonna die if I didn’t help,” Len’s expression changed into a smirk, “No more face off’s and ways to wind him up if he’s dead.”

“Lenny, be serious here. That was a big risk, he could have exposed you. Not to mention the effect that the blood would actually have on him,” she said with concern in her tone.

“Look Lise, his team keep enough secrets as it is and besides it would be just as easy for me to expose who the Flash was. And yes I knew what the blood would do. But I haven’t used the bond to keep tabs on him, haven’t wanted to, that’s not why I did it and I told him as much. Told him that the dreams would pass too after he confronted me about it and asked me to fix it,” Len answered, being as honest as he could.

“Lenny he was probably freaking out over those dreams at first! Poor kid, you could have at least warned him,” Lisa scolded.

“The police were nearing the scene; I had to get out of there. Kid was kind of out of it for a bit anyway. Doubt he’d have remembered what I said.”

“So how many times have you met up with our city’s resident hero then? I’m pretty sure he would not let the fact that he was saved by a vampire drop that easily.”

Len debated lying to Lisa about having seen Barry again. He didn’t want her reading too much into it, especially when he wasn’t sure how he felt about Barry anyway. Sure he’d always found the kid attractive, who wouldn’t with that body and skin tight suit? But Len had begun to question it more than that. Barry was unlike anyway he’d ever met. He seemed genuinely interested in learning all about Len and his life. Something few people ever wanted to do. Most would have run when they found out he was a vampire, would have wanted nothing more to do with Len. But Barry, Barry was different and Len really wasn’t sure where that left him.

“I’ve seen him a couple of times now. He has questions and I do my best to answer them. He wanted to know more about vampire lore and so on, so I told him everything I could. I know he never wanted my blood or this bond that I created so I figure it’s only fair to let him in a bit. The fact that he didn’t run after finding out what I am also intrigued me if I’m honest, it’s not like we make a lot of friends is it?”

“Wow Lenny. Sounds like you have a bit of a crush there. So when’s your next date?” Lisa asked playfully.

Of course Lisa would assume that, even if she was only joking. This is why he hadn’t wanted to tell her.

“It wasn’t a date. He wouldn’t exactly be interested anyway. Vampire, thief and criminal remember? Regardless of the fact that he doesn’t look at me like I’m a monster, I don’t think I’m what you’d class as ‘stable relationship material’.”

“So you do like him. Look, people can always surprise you Lenny, so stop being so hard on yourself. You deserve some happiness, stop thinking you don’t. If the kid wants to get to know you, the real you even knowing what and who you are, then let him.”

Lisa’s face was stern and unwavering. Len really hated her and her words of wisdom sometimes.

Lisa continued, “If you like him then let him know. Even if he only wants to be friends or whatever, you owe it to yourself to try at least. It’s not exactly like people are lining up to date people like us after all.”

Len hated when Lisa was right. He knew he’d always been closed off, more so after being turned and that relationships were never his strong point. Barry was the first person Len had felt like this about since being turned, come to think of it, he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt this way about someone.  The fact that he felt this way after only a few meetings with Barry outside of their alter ego fights spoke volumes as well.   

Len didn’t want to scare Barry off though. He really did like spending time with him and couldn’t help but be enamoured with Barry’s childlike curiosity about all things supernatural, and the way he spoke about his love of science. So Len decided that he’d hold back with his feelings for now, maybe just try and become friends with the kid. After all Len didn’t know if Barry felt the same and even if he did, Len couldn’t be sure if it was an interest in him or what he was.

**********

It was three weeks before Barry contacted Len again. In all honesty he wasn’t even sure if he should. He didn’t want to feel like he was burdening Len, even though Len had been the one to give Barry his number and had told Barry to arrange something if he wanted to meet again. In that time he’d had time to think and couldn’t help but feel drawn to Len in some way, and not just because he was a little fascinated with the supernatural side of him. Len was somewhat of an enigma, a supervillain who went around pulling heists and committing crimes, yet never harmed anyone unless in self- defence; someone who pulled off nefarious deeds just to get Barry’s attention and then ended up not only saving the life of but also agreeing to work with the hero too.

Yes, it was safe to say Barry was more than a little intrigued by Len. He also couldn’t help but be a little captivated by what he assumed was the real side of Len too, under the persona and parka. How Len had taken care of him, let him into his home and even been prepared to open up to Barry like he had. Barry knew that probably didn’t happen too often. Len still had a ruthless reputation and criminal record to boot.

Barry pulled out his phone and dialled Len’s number, more nervous than he should be really. It was early evening and getting dark so Barry hoped he’d be awake. Len picked up on the second ring.

“Scarlet?”

“Hey, umm are you free tonight? Sorry I haven’t been in touch sooner; flash stuff and work keep me pretty busy. No problem if you’re-”

“What did you have in mind?” Len cut him off.

“Oh, well maybe we could go out somewhere, like a diner? I know you don’t eat, wait can you eat food? Anyway thought it might be nice for a change of scenery, if that’s okay with you of course?”

“Sure, kid. Text me the details, my evening is pretty clear anyway.”

“Okay, cool. Thanks Len, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Scarlet.”

**********

Barry texted Len the address of a diner not far away and asked if they could meet at 8pm. It would be dark by then so that wouldn’t be a problem. Len couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his lips when he finished the phone call.

“What’s got you in such a good mood, Lenny?” Lisa asked as she walked back into the room. She was going out with a friend later anyway, so that worked out pretty well.

“I’m meeting the Flash out later. Guess he has some more questions.”

“Ooh a date with lover boy?”

“Lise, it’s not a date.”

“No no, I’m sure there are hundreds of other reasons why he wants to see you again. None of them involve liking you of course,” she commented, sarcastically. “Seriously though Lenny, I’m happy for you. Even if nothing comes of it, at least you’re not sat around planning heists and moping.”

“I do not mope. Now if you’ll excuse me I have somewhere to be.”

**********

 Barry walked into the diner a little after 8pm and saw Len already sat at one of the booths, he walked over and greeted him before taking a seat opposite.

“It’s not weird to come somewhere like this is it? If it is we can totally go,” the words quickly tumbling out of Barry’s mouth.

“Not a problem, Scarlet. I _can_ actually eat regular food, just don’t most of the time as it doesn’t really do a lot. Kind of like when people just eat junk food, doesn’t actually sustain them but that doesn’t mean I don’t like to sometimes though.”

“Oh, okay that’s interesting. Another thing that most movies and stuff get wrong then.”

“You know you really shouldn’t trust that sort of stuff for your information, Red. It’s not exactly an encyclopaedia.”

Barry chuckled. “Well not everyone has a friendly vampire they can just call up, do they?”

Len smirked a little then his expression shifted to a genuine smile. No doubt contemplating the fact that Barry had just called him ‘friendly’.

They both ordered some food, Barry ordering what would usually feed four people, and carried on chatting. It was nice, Barry thought. No awkward pauses or not knowing what to say. He felt at ease around Len for some reason, even though others would no doubt be terrified. Barry tried to minimise the talk about Cold and Flash stuff so instead they chatted about tv shows for a bit until their food arrived, which also brought Barry back to his original train of thought.

“So the food thing I’ve asked you about, but what about like sleep?” Barry asked as he tucked in to his fries.

“Same as humans really. I know there is some writing that says we don’t sleep at all or need to sleep in coffins but that’s not true. We just sleep the same as any human, in a bed, just in the day.”

Barry wasn’t actually surprised by that answer. It made sense for them to still need to sleep after all. At the mention of sleep, his mind drifted back to the dreams that had only recently stopped. He really didn’t want to be thinking about that now. He sort of wanted to ask more about the dreams but was kinda scared to bring it up.

Len looked up from his food, almost as if he was trying to figure out what was going on inside Barry’s head. Barry really hoped that wasn’t one of his powers, although he was pretty sure Len would have mentioned it sooner if it was. He also temporarily got lost in Len’s eyes, they really were very beautiful.

“Something on your mind, Scarlet?”

“Oh no, nothing important,” Barry looked away briefly, “Don’t worry about it. “ He hoped Len wouldn’t ask again, which thankfully he didn’t.

Once they’d both finished eating Barry started to speak just as Len did the same.

“Thanks for meeting me-”

“If you’ve got time we-“

“You first, Len.”

“Was going to say we could always go back and watch a film, at mine? If you want?”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah that would be really nice. I just didn’t want to take up too much of your time.”

“You’re not, come on then,” Len said with a smile. Damn Barry could look at that all day too.

They paid and exited and Barry flashed them back to Len’s once again.

**********

It still surprised Len when Barry spoke about taking up too much of his time or him having better things to do. Of course Len wanted to spend time with Barry, he wouldn’t have given Barry his number if he hadn’t as least hoped he’d see him again. Sure it was a little strange to think that mere weeks ago they had been fighting as nemeses, but it seemed that Central City and the Flash were always full of surprises.

It was only nearly 9:30pm when they arrived back at Len’s house. Barry mentioned that he had to be up early for work as there was an early staff meeting, but that he had time to at least watch a film for a while. They picked _The Proposal_ as it was a little silly and light-hearted. Len debated getting some blood, when he got Barry a drink, but he didn’t want it to be weird so he got a beer instead and decided he’d ask about it the next time he saw Barry.

After that, both of them settled on the sofa to watch the film. Len wouldn’t say they were _snuggled_ on the sofa but they sat closer than a superhero and his arch nemesis normally would be. Closer than most people would sit with a vampire either.

Barry joked about how he would totally be the Ryan Reynolds character, which Len couldn’t help but laugh at, especially thinking about the fact that he would definitely be the Sandra Bullock character in that situation.

About halfway through the feel Len realised that Barry had gone very quiet. When he looked over he saw the speedster gently dozing with his head resting on his shoulder. Len decided to switch the film off and let Barry sleep. He covered Barry with a blanket and moved him into a lying down position carefully so as not to wake him up. Strangely -or maybe not so strangely given Len’s recent feelings towards Barry- Len couldn’t help but think how adorable Barry looked when he was asleep, and how beautiful he really was. Len realised then that he was falling hard.

Once upon a time having his nemesis/enemy or whatever they were supposed to be, in his house asleep would have made Len feel very differently. But now, now all he wanted was to spend as much time as he could with Barry, whether or not he reciprocated Len’s feelings, he wanted to get to know him. Discover more about the person underneath the cowl.

At around 1am, Len was pouring over some documents at the kitchen table when he heard Barry stir in the living room. Barry looked a little confused at first; almost as though he’d forgotten where he was and that he’d fallen asleep partway through the film.

“Sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“Don’t worry about it, Scarlet. You looked like you needed the rest anyway.”

“Yeah, staying out late fighting crime doesn’t always allow for a good night’s sleep. I should get going before Joe wakes up in the morning and realises I’m not at home. Don’t really wanna answer those questions just yet. Thanks for tonight, Len. I had a really nice time. Maybe we could do it again sometime soon?” Barry asked, sounding a little unsure of himself.

Len couldn’t help but notice the uncertainty in Barry’s voice. How he still doubted if Len wanted to see him again. “Of course, Red. Whenever your life of heroics allows you some time off just let me know.”

“Okay, umm cool. Yeah, that would… that would be nice. Thanks again,” Barry said, smiling and stumbling his words, still a little sleepy.

“See ya, Scarlet.” And with that he was out the door. Len couldn’t help the smile that coloured his face after Barry had left.

**********

If someone had told Barry a few weeks ago that he would not only befriend he notorious Captain Cold, but be having movie nights at his house, he would have laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea. Oh how things change.

He knew now that he was definitely seeing a side to Len that was normally hidden away. The part of him that cared deeply for his sister, that still had regrets and hang ups about what his father had done to them and the part that showed Barry that books should never be judged by their covers, especially not when vampires were involved. Len had shown Barry kindness and compassion, had helped Barry when he most needed it, had even covered him in blankets when he fell asleep and hadn’t even asked for anything in return.

Barry knew Len’s history and knew he was still a criminal, but he couldn’t help how he was starting to care for the other man. Really care for him. He felt incredibly conflicted about the whole situation if he was being honest. He had no idea if Len would even be interested in him like that, despite the friendship that was blossoming between the two of them. So he decided to do the only sensible thing he could think of. Talk to Iris and Caitlin as soon as possible, consequences be damned.

**********

Cisco was out working with Hartley on something for the CCPD so he’d be gone all day, but luckily the ladies were available for a chat.

It worked out well as both he and Iris had a day off. Barry because he’d been called in over the weekend and Singh said he could take today off and Iris had been given time off in lieu of all the overtime she’d pulled for an important article. He arrived to the labs and Iris and Caitlin were both sitting in the cortex, idly chatting, again he brought coffee and pastries as a peace offering.

“Hey, guys,” Barry said cheerfully as he entered the room, putting everything down on a desk.

“Hey Barr, everything okay? Why did you want to meet here?” Iris asked.

“Because I need to talk to both of you and here is as private as anywhere.”

“Okay, we’re both here, so what can we do for you?” Caitlin said.

“I need advice. I need advice about… feelings for someone that I’m having a hard time processing. And you guys know I’m not exactly great at the whole dating thing, so I need your help.”

“Okay Barr, is this about Len by any chance?” Iris enquired, even though he was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

“Uhh, yeah.” Somehow admitting that out loud made everything seem suddenly way more real.

“Len as in Leonard, as in Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold?” Caitlin interjected.

Barry had forgotten that she didn’t know how many times he’d seen Len now. He’d told the others some of Len’s back story and some of the other things Len had mentioned but hadn’t actually said that he’d seen him as many times as he had. It seemed that Caitlin and Cisco had almost started to warm to Len a little, maybe warm was the wrong word but at least not hate as much as they once did.

“Yeah Maybe? It’s kind of a mess and I don’t even know what I’m doing. We’ve hung out a few times and that’s been really nice, like seriously he is a whole different person behind closed doors, but he’s still a criminal and I’m a CSI and he’s a vampire and I don’t even know if he likes-

“Barry breathe,” both ladies said in unison.

“Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?” Caitlin said. “So you’ve seen each other a few times now?”

“Umm yeah. I hadn’t seen him for a while recently so we went out for food two nights ago and then ended up at his house, watching a film that I fell asleep halfway though.”

“So you enjoy spending time with him and getting to know him then?” Caitlin continued.

“Yeah, I do and I know I probably shouldn’t but he’s different and I think he gets it, knows what it’s like to be an outsider like I’ve felt for a lot of my life. Being a criminal and a vampire doesn’t exactly get you a lot of friends. And you guys know that before the lightning I was always off chasing strange sightings and being this nerdy science guy. I didn’t exactly fit in well most places either.”

“Barr, I know what he’s done in his past but you believe in second chances as much as anyone, more so. He’s already helped you on more than one occasion without any bribes or payment. I know this is scary but I think you know the answer already. Okay he’s a criminal now, but that doesn’t have to be all he is. You’re always saying there’s good in people whether they believe it or not so just trust yourself on this okay but please just be careful,” Iris finished with a smile.

“Look Barry, I know you’re worried what we think because his past and what he did to you and yes it worries me about what his intentions are with you. But like Iris said everyone has the capacity for good if they let themselves believe it. From what you’ve told us it seems like Len _is_ starting to believe it, that he can be more. It’s not going to be an easy route at the end of the day just don’t go into this blind okay and be careful,” Caitlin said.

Barry knew why Caitlin was worried. Yes Len had hurt Barry in the past and tried to bring the Flash down and who was to say he wouldn’t again? However, the way Len had let Barry in, that wasn’t something that could be faked. He hoped that the others would soon start to see Len how he was starting to: someone capable of good and compassion, just set on the wrong path early and carrying on that way because he thought there was no room for redemption.

“Thank you guys so much. That really means a lot,” Barry said while walking to embrace both ladies tightly. “I know you’re still wary of Len and of course you have a right to be, but he’s almost like a different person with me, without the criminal intentions and theatrics, he’s just Len.”

**********

Later that evening Barry was round at Cisco’s for one of their weekly gaming sessions. He accepted what Iris and Caitlin had told him earlier and he was thankful that he could talk to them, even if he didn’t necessarily get an easy answer or the one he wanted to hear. But Cisco was also one of his best friends and he wanted to make sure that getting closer to Len wouldn’t come between him and Cisco, plus it couldn’t help to get advice from a guy either.

They’d taken a break from the PS4 for a bit and were munching down on pizza, Barry already on his second large one.

“What do you think of Len?” Barry tried to casually ask.

“Len as in Captain Cold?” Cisco clarified.

“Umm, yeah? I know you’ve only heard about him from me and haven’t really met him to actually make up your mind but I’m just wondering?”

“This is probably gonna sound a bit crazy, but I don’t actually mind him. I’m not saying I wanna be his best friend but he’s so not as bad as some of the meta’s we’ve gone up against. From what you’ve told us, he’s had a pretty raw deal all the way through his life. Not saying that’s an excuse for being a criminal and world class thief but that’s who he is or at least all he thinks he is.”

That surprised Barry. He was sure they would all still be a little dubious of Len. Even if they knew he and Barry were somewhat friends now.

“So if I told I was kinda maybe getting towards liking him as more than a friend?”

“Woah, really? I’m happy for you dude! He did save your life after all, and that’s not exactly the sort of thing some heartless bastard would do, so he can’t be all bad. Besides the way he looks out for his sister is pretty cool too, he’s gotta have a soft side somewhere right?”

The fact that Cisco also thought that Len had a kinder side made Barry pretty happy actually.

“Yeah he does. Thanks Cisco. Can I just ask you one other thing? I know you don’t know him that well, yet at least but do you think I’m being a bit forward with this, I’m still not sure if he might have the same feelings for me?” Barry asked, still feeling like he may be reading the situation wrong.

“From what you’ve told us, he’s opened up to you a lot and told you a lot of deep personal stuff, pretty quickly too. Not to mention actually inviting you to his house. In my experience people don’t do that unless they want to involve you in their world, so it’s probably safe to say he feels the same.”

“Thanks, Cisco. That really means a lot.”

Barry gave Cisco a quick hug before turning back to their gaming session.

**********

So far, Len had pretty much been relying on Barry to text him if he wanted to meet up. Barry was the one with the hectic schedule, running about most nights fighting crime and Len didn’t want to impose if he had a lot on currently. Especially as the evenings were the only time they could only meet up if they wanted to go somewhere other than Len’s house. They’d been texting casually back and forth a little bit but not about anything of much importance. After all, this was all still very new.

However, after the last time Len saw Barry, nearly a week ago, he hadn’t been able to get him out of his head, he needed to see him again. So he texted Barry and asked if he wanted to come over soon and maybe get some food in and watch a film. Thankfully, Barry had responded saying he’d love to and the date was set for three days’ time.

When Len opened the door to Barry, he already had several pizza boxes sacked in his arms. Len still couldn’t believe Barry could put away that much food.

Things fell into a similar routine as they had before, except this time before the film had even started Barry turned to Len and started to speak.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I know that vampires don’t age once turned so do you mind me asking how old you are? Are you like over 100 or something?”

Len was surprised Barry hadn’t actually asked about his age sooner.

“Wow, Scarlet way to make a guy feel good,” Len joked.

“Oh god, no I didn’t mean you look old, just in movies and stuff vampires always seem to be at least 100 or older.”

Len chucked at Barry’s rambling. “Don’t worry, I know what you meant. I was 43 when I was turned and that was 10 years ago. So technically I’m 53 now. Lise was 28, so she’ll always retain her youthful looks which I’m sure she’s thrilled about.”

Len wasn’t sure why he’d started to mention his sister, normally he never spoke about her unless directly asked. Even though he only spoke openly to a handful of people. But something about Barry made him feel like he was able to open up and be honest, he actively wanted to tell Barry about his family.

Barry was quite for a minute, probably contemplating that information.

“Mick was a similar age to me when he was turned but he’s been a vampire for nearly 30 years now. It’s why he was able to help Lise and I control our feeding urges so well. Lot of experience. I don’t really know the circumstances that well, Mick isn’t exactly one for words, but I do know that his maker released him, so he doesn’t have to serve anyone anymore.”

The words tumbled from Len’s mouth before he really realised what he was saying. It wasn’t that telling Barry was an issue. _No,_ more that he hadn’t realised his guard had been down enough for that to happen.  But honestly he liked being able to let his guard down a little, to not have to debate what and how he would say things. It was different. Nice.

“Well I’m glad Mick was there to help you through it and I’m glad you’ve all still got each other,” Barry said while smiling. “So do all of you have similar powers like speed and your strength?”

“Yes, pretty much. Those things increase with age. Some have other powers like flight and mind reading abilities but I’ve only ever heard about those, never met anyone myself. We have enhanced stamina for fighting but for most that’s about it. Not quite as exciting as some movies huh?”

“Well as much as turning into a bat would be fun, I’m pretty sure it would be a little unrealistic,” Barry said.

“Unrealistic? Huh. What exactly can you do again, Barry?” Len smirked.

Barry just laughed. It was a sound Len was slowly beginning to love. So pure and full of joy and happiness.

“It’s not just the speed though,” Barry quickly cut in, “I can throw lightning, phase through doors and out of restraints, run up buildings, which was terrifying when I first tried it, but does make things quicker. Oh also I can do a supersonic punch if I’m a certain distance away from someone.”

Barry was practically beaming after listing off all of _his_ powers like that. It made vampire powers pale in comparison, and Barry was no doubt still learning things too.

The film had pretty much been forgotten as they sat and continued talking about Barry’s powers for a while. Len knew he needed to drink some blood soon but he didn’t want to cut the evening short just because of that. Normally he wouldn’t have worried, but this was different.

“Barry,” Len started softly, “Do you mind if I drink blood around you?” He wasn’t sure why he felt so nervous.

“No, that’s totally fine,” Barry answered quite nonchalantly, glancing at Len who had a look of relief on his face. “Wait, please don’t tell me you haven’t done it up to now because of me? I’d never want you to hide that. That’s a part of you and you can totally be yourself around me!”

“That’s partly the reason, Scarlet. Normally better at drinking more before you get here but I was busy earlier and actually forgot as it happens.”

“Well then go, get some blood don’t starve,” Barry said jokingly.

Len re-entered the room a few minutes later with a glass of blood in hand.

“So how much do you have to drink?” Barry asked, curiously.

“Scarlet, anyone ever tell you you ask a _lot_ of questions?” Len didn’t mind really, but he also didn’t want to spend the entire time talking about himself either.

“Oh sorry, you don’t have to answer. I just get curious about things, _scientist_ remember? And it wouldn’t weird me out if you did want to tell me, by the way. About your fangs too.”

“What about them?” Len asked, interested to see where this was going.

“Umm, can you extend them whenever you want or is it only when you’re going to feed or give someone your blood?” Barry looked around a little, almost as if he wasn’t sure he should have mentioned Len’s fangs.

Ah. Len should have known this would come sooner or later of course he had to be curious. Len debated only telling Barry the partial truth but he wanted Barry to know him and his fangs were a part of him. Besides if they ever became more than friends it would certainly come up anyway.

“I can control them most of the time and usually only extend them for feeding. Which I don’t need to do anymore,” he looked away from Barry and continued, “But, they do come out without our control when vampires get aroused.”

Realisation dawned on Barry then. “Oh, oh… you mean, right. Oh okay then.”

“So there you have it, Scarlet.”

“Would you ever show me your fangs?” That caught Len off guard a little, but then Barry Allen, as he had come to learn, was always able to surprise him. This night was definitely not going as he’d thought it would, but that wasn’t really a bad thing.

“Would you ever ask?”

“What if I’m asking now?”

There was a strange tension in the air. Barry’s question sounded like a challenge but was laced with something else. Len drew closer to Barry, and opened his mouth to extend his pointed teeth. This was him after all, and he wanted to show that to Barry.

Barry didn’t look shocked at all, awed if anything, which was strange. He was staring at Len like he was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen, which Len hardly believed. Barry brought his face closer to examine the fangs. Len was still a little self-conscious, wasn’t sure why he’d heeded Barry’s request so easily and without much thought for consequences. But the way Barry looked at him, made all of that worry disappear.

“Wow, they’re bigger than I expected. Not that I expected them to not be small either,” Barry added quickly, a blush creeping on to his cheeks. “They are kinda beautiful though, in their own way, you know as teeth go.”

Len wasn’t sure if Barry said that for his sake or because he genuinely believed it but either way it was a much better reaction than he’d expected. So much so, that he felt a little overwhelmed by it all. Sat here now not a lot of things would really give away what Len was, save the glass of blood.  But the part of him that was most recognisable as what he was - the sharp teeth made for piercing and draining - they couldn’t always be hidden, would always be a part of Len. Somehow Barry had already wholly accepted Len for what he was and not only did it not scare Barry off, it gave Len something he had not felt in a long time – acceptance.  

“Thanks,” Len said once he’d retracted the fangs, trying to play off quite how overcome with emotion he was right now. He feared if he said anymore in that moment then everything he already felt about Barry have come tumbling out. So he tried to change the subject instead. “So if we’re all done with the questions, how about we actually watch _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ now?”

**********

Barry really hoped that he’d tried to at least hint at how he felt about Len the last time he saw him. And also get across that he had zero problems with any aspect of Len being a vampire, it really didn’t faze him at all, not after a lot of the crazy stuff he’d dealt with over the past few months. But this wasn’t really his strong suit and encouragement to go for it from his friends could only do so much. Luckily Len hadn’t pulled a heist in a while so Barry didn’t have to worry about how different their dynamic would be, once again as hero and villain.  Unfortunately when Barry strolled into the labs the next day, evening just setting in, there was one Captain Cold, half draped across the cortex desk and chatting… with Cisco?

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Barry asked, a little timidly.

“Well it seems that Cold here, uhh sorry – _Len_ , man I am never gonna get used to that, he kinda came here to ask for our help,” Cisco said, a little bewildered still.

“He did?” Barry asked, shocked.

“Indeed. Seems there’s a new criminal gang setting up home here, or trying to and they’re bad news. Thought this might be something that the City’s beloved superhero would want to know about,” Len said, a little teasingly.

“Oh yeah, absolutely. What do we know so far?”

Len relayed everything he had found out from his connections, likely areas where they were holed up and places where deals had been known to go down. Len told them that it wasn’t just that this gang posed a threat to him when he planned heists or tried to fence items, to which Cisco responded “I’m just gonna pretend we didn’t hear that bit”, but that if rumours were to be believed there were also involved in some very unsavoury dealings that just didn’t sit right with Len, criminal or not.

Len told them that with Barry and the other’s help they had a chance of taking these guys in before they got a proper grip on the city. Barry knew they’d do all they could to help.

The next few hours were spent coming up with a strategy and planning how to take the gang down, collecting information wherever they could -which included trying to hack into some computer systems- and Barry making several coffee runs. Barry called Joe to see if he had any useful information but apparently the CCPD knew even less than they did. Clearly having someone with criminal underworld connections _did_ come in handy sometimes, although Joe didn’t need to know that part. Barry honestly didn’t want a speech about how working with Captain Cold was a bad idea because the only way to refute the point would be to admit that they’d become friends or whatever they were and Barry did not have time for _that_ conversation right now.

Joe told Barry that if they could get evidence of what this gang was up to and knew where they were hiding out he’d convince Captain Singh to send back up for the Flash. If Captain Cold happened to be there too, fighting alongside Barry, well that was just a coincidence. He was a smart guy and could have figured things out too, at least that’s the story Barry was gonna go with, for now at least. 

Three days passed with all of them looking for information and Barry zipping around the city to find out what he could. He couldn’t be sure of it, but there was a definite shift in how Cisco and more so Caitlin started to act around Len by the third day. It looked like they were warming up to him a little bit. After all Len was nothing but pleasant when around them, even trying to chat about things not related to the task at hand when they took a break.

On the fourth day they made a break through. Cisco had compiled concrete evidence against the gang and their most recent location had been pinned down. If Barry and Len, with CCPD back up could take them in, then the police should have no problem pressing charges and getting all of them put away.

**********

They arrived just outside the warehouse and Barry swept the perimeter. Len also ensured the entrances except the one they would use were all iced over. He’d been given comms for this and so would be able to hear when Barry gave the signal for the police to come in, if needed. They knew Barry wasn’t working alone, they just didn’t know who exactly he was working with. Better to get the job done first and worry about the rest later.

They both snuck inside and moved stealthily throughout the place. The first couple of guards were iced to the spot and were handcuffed before they knew what had happened. Barry raced each person out then to the awaiting CCPD vans. They took down each person as they came, constantly signalling to each other and having each other’s backs. Barry hadn’t felt a thrill quite like this in a long time. Working alongside Len as opposed to fighting him was pretty incredible really. The way he moved and handed himself was to be admired.

It wasn’t long before they found the main group, holed up in the middle of the building. They attacked at the same time. Barry sped around trying to handcuff whoever he could and incapacitate others if that wasn’t an option. Len fired the cold gun to block their exits and freeze them to the spot, no permanent damage in this case. Bullets started to fire from a couple of the guys but Barry was quick enough to dodge them and kick the guns away. Len was similarly quick enough on his feet, without using any powers, to avoid any gunfire. He also iced their guns should they attempt any kind of escape. 

“Thanks for the assist, Scarlet. I’ll see you shortly,” Len said then disappeared before Barry signalled for the CCPD to come inside and take everyone out. Barry understood that Len still wanted to minimise contact with the police if he could.

Joe met Barry outside and pulled him aside.

“I don’t know who you were working with, not sure if I want to know. But that person deserves a lot of credit for helping you with all of this. Keeping the city safe isn’t an easy job is it?”

Barry knew the building was covered in bits of now melting ice. Whether Joe honestly hadn’t sussed who helped Barry or was playing ignorant, Barry couldn’t be sure but he was thankful.

It was a night well done then.

Barry felt really good taking down that gang, more so as he had been working _with_ Len. 

He was smiling all the way back to the labs.

**********

The next time Barry saw Len wasn’t for nearly a month. However Captain Cold did pull a heist that the Flash had to foil. Seemingly their dynamic was mostly unchanged, still full of dramatic speeches and puns like previous encounters. They hadn’t talked about what would happen when they met again as their personas, but even after Barry foiled the heist their messaging and chatting by phone remained pretty much the same, so maybe keeping those things separate could still work.

In fact, work as well as Flash stuff was the main reason Barry had been so busy and had so little free time. Barry’s work had been crazy busy due to a series of murders with a lot of evidence that all needed processing as soon as it was collected. Just so happened that these crimes were all being committed once it was dark so any free evenings Barry potentially were soon taken up. He had time off in the day instead but that wasn’t exactly helpful for trying to see a vampire.

So when he finally had a free evening, Barry didn’t hesitate to contact Len and ask if he wanted to hang out. They were once again at Len’s house as neither felt like going out and Joe’s house was obviously off limits. Barry sat close to Len on the sofa, he felt nervous and giddy all at once. He’d decided the time had finally come to actually do something about his obvious attraction to the other man.

He turned to face Len. “Len, I um… well what I want to say is,” words failed Barry so instead he just went for it and kissed Len.

Len didn’t respond at first, just kinda sat there and Barry was terrified he’d read the situation completely wrong. Barry started to pull away when Len gently placed a hand at the back of his neck and pulled him back in for a sweet kiss.

“Was that okay?” Barry asked.

“Yeah that was definitely okay,” Len replied.

“Okay, I need to say this and please just bear with me while I get through it. We’ve been spending quite a bit of time together and um, well… I like you Len, as more than just a friend. I really like you. And I wanted to tell you for so long but had no idea if you felt the same and if it would be weird if I told you but I can’t hold it in anymore. And I’ve been trying to hint at it but I don’t think I’m very good at that so?” Barry said.

“Well that kiss was definitely a massive hint, Scarlet. But honestly, I feel the same. I have to admit very early on I started to develop feelings for you but I convinced myself you’d never want someone like me, what I am. But you never saw me as a monster or anyone to be feared,” Len couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face.

Barry beamed. “Never Len. So… you maybe wanna go on a date sometime. I mean like actually, officially as umm…” Barry nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “…boyfriends?”

“You asking me to be your boyfriend, Red?” Len teased, smile on his face.

“Yes,” Barry said without a second thought.

“Okay. What did you have in mind for a date then?”

“Erm, midnight movie screening maybe? Sounds a bit more exciting than regular coffee dates and stuff. Probably have to be on the weekend though as I have to get up for work in the week. Does that sound okay?”

“Yeah Scarlet. Sounds perfect. Just set the time and place and I’m there.”

Barry grinned.

 **********

Their first date was everything Barry could have wanted. They sat in a dark theatre, stuffing their faces with popcorn and sweets while holding hands and watching a late night viewing of _Star Trek into Darkness_. Barry had discovered they were both massive nerds with a love of all things sci-fi, something that had made Len go up in Cisco’s expectations, although Cisco would probably never admit it.

The film finished around 3am. Barry really wanted to stay up for a little while longer but he was really tired by now, which Len could tell. So instead Len walked him nearly all the way home, just in case Joe was anywhere to be seen, and they shared a long, slow kiss before they parted ways. Barry just hoped he could sneak back in without Joe being any the wiser.  

They went on several more ‘proper’ dates over the next few weeks, not that those were entirely different from what they had been doing before. Barry bringing food and films for movie nights, late night walks around the city’s parks, an evening of bowling and Len even cooked for Barry at his place once (for someone who has seldom eaten in the past 10 years Len still knew his way around a kitchen). The only thing that was shame was the fact they couldn’t do anything together in the daytime, on weekends or when Barry had days off. Barry thought Len was possibly a little more saddened by that than him.

Barry has also discovered that his new favourite thing was to snuggle with Len on the sofa. He was a little apprehensive at first, but as soon as Len invited him into his personal space Barry loved it and never wanted to leave. Barry also loved kissing Len, it was one of the best things he’d ever experienced, the feel of Len’s soft lips meeting his, the light bites and pressure to his lips. He could just melt into it and never let go. The soft caresses to Barry’s arms and back felt magical with Len’s gentle fingers holding him and absentmindedly wondering over Barry’s body.

Never past his waist though and never going any further than just kissing, even if it was very obvious that they were both getting turned on just from what they were doing. It definitely took Barry by surprise though as he’d actually assumed Len would be pretty much always up for sex, based on his dreams and what he’d generally heard about vampires. So he was thankful in a way that he didn’t have to tell Len that he wasn’t ready for more, if Len tried to take things further. Barry hinted that he was a virgin without actually having to come out and say it, so just assumed that Len was just being careful not to push him for anything until he was ready. Barry knew he really liked Len, was pretty sure he was falling in love with him, but he wasn’t certain he quite wanted to re-enact any of those dreams.

Initially Barry was pretty pleased that Len was happy to take things at his pace when it came to more intimate encounters. But as time went on and they grew closer still, Barry felt a lot more comfortable around Len and actually started to think about taking things further, not all the way but showing Len that he was up for a bit more than just kissing.

Of course that was around the time when Lisa Snart found out about things getting more serious between them and demanded to meet Barry or The Flash.

**********

This is how Barry found himself sat around the table with both Len and Lisa Snart. They were drinking beers and Lisa was bombarding Barry with questions. He knew meeting Lisa dressed up as the Flash wouldn’t exactly work, and he trusted her from what he’d heard from Len so decided to tell her his secret. He also assumed this wouldn’t be their only meeting from now on, so having Lisa know who the Flash really was seemed like the more logical option. As soon as Barry had introduced himself Lisa started giggling and told Barry that even though Len hadn’t given away his identity she had figured out who the Flash was all on her own.

“If Lenny can figure out who you are under that mask, don’t you think I can too? I’m not just the beauty remember,” she said with a wink.

At one point she pulled Barry to one side for a quiet word.

“Have you seen how happy my brother has been recently, Barry? That’s because of you. Lenny is pretty much head over heels for you, sweetie. So you better not plan on breaking my big brothers heart.”

Barry was a little taken back at that as Len hadn’t said he loved him yet. But he answered Lisa anyway as heartfelt as he could. “No, Lisa, I’d never do anything to hurt him, he’s amazing.”

Lisa hugged Barry tightly after that and whispered “If you do, they’ll never find the body,” before pulling back and flashing a bright smile at Barry.

When Lisa left after even more questions directed at Barry, the two of them settled on to the sofa.

“Tonight was lovely,” Barry said.

“Really, Scarlet? Did we have the same evening?” Len drawled.

“She’s just protective and it’s sweet. I know how close you guys are. Besides she didn’t try to hurt me so that’s something right? Although she did promise trouble if I ever hurt you so…?”

Len chucked. “Planning on deserting me so soon?” he said sarcastically.

“Nah, I like you too much for that. And I need someone else besides Cisco to nerd out with me, I think I must have driven Iris crazy with that before I met you guys. She is so not into most of the stuff I am.”

Len laughed at that.

While they were both in good spirits, Barry decided it was time to test the waters as it were. He climbed slowly into Len’s lap and didn’t immediately get removed, so he wrapped his arms around Len’s neck and kissed him deeply, hips moving ever so slowly in a tantalising grind. Len started to move too and meet Barry shallow thrusts with his own moving hips. Len moved to lie down a bit more so that Barry was on top of him. Barry could feel that they were both getting hard already. They were now slowly rutting against each other, fingers caressing down arms and chests. Len started to mouth and lick and kiss at Barry’s jaw and earlobe. Barry knew his breathing was getting a little erratic.

But just like that Len sharply turned his head away, broke them apart and manoeuvred Barry so he could sit up again. Not quite the reaction Barry was expecting.

“Don’t you have to be up early?” Len said his tone was fairly neutral.

It was after 1am and Barry did have work, but he would have forgone an hour of sleep for more of what they were doing. He wasn’t really sure what he’d done or how to process everything ad it didn’t seem like Len wanted to talk about it so Barry decided going home to sleep and thinking it over tomorrow would be best.

They hadn’t discussed the subject of Barry staying over mainly because Joe would get very suspicious if he was regularly not coming home, not to mention the fact that Len wouldn’t be sleeping, so being asleep by himself in someone else’s bed would be a bit weird.

“Oh yeah I do. I’ll get going. But see you soon?” he asked on his way out the door.

“Of course, Red.”

**********

Barry tried to think about what happened yesterday and why Len stopped them but he couldn’t really come up with any good answers, short of outright asking him which he wasn’t gonna do, not yet at least, he didn’t want to sound accusing or anything.

The same thing continued to happen when they were alone for the next few times they saw each other. Barry would initiate it and they’d kiss and run fingers over each other’s bodies, press kisses to jaws and collarbones and grind their very obvious erections against each other, never any skin on skin contact until Len would just stop thing and that was that. It was also never particularly urgent though, almost as if Len was holding himself back.

Barry may be new to all of this but he knew he wanted to do some stuff with Len. Try things out. He assumed Len would totally be up for it but he just… wasn’t. That left Barry feeling very confused and kinda conflicted. It was obvious that they were both attracted to each other, so why was Len rebuffing Barry when he tried to get close?

**********

Barry decided to talk to Cisco about it. He was at Cisco’s place for games night anyway so it made sense.

“Hey man, can I ask you something… personal?”

“Yeah always, what’s up?”

“Okay, this is really awkward for me, I mean more so if I was talking to Iris even though I have talked to her about this stuff in the past, mainly because she demanded to know but I always felt a bit weird-” Cisco gave Barry the ‘dude you’re rambling again look’ “Oh right, here goes.”

“Well, every time Len and I get… close, he pulls away and umm, cools things down if you get my meaning. I assumed he’d be all over me because of the dreams you know, but he’s acting like some perfect gentleman. Which was really nice at first but now I kinda wanna… do stuff with him and he just pushes me away and what should I do?” Barry was blushing after that, even though he’d tried to not let himself get embarrassed talking about this sort of thing. Dammit why could Iris and Cisco talk about this like they were discussing the weather?

“Have you tried talking to him about it?” Cisco asked.

“Well, I didn’t want it to be weird, so no but-”

“Barry, talk to your boyfriend about this.” Cisco cut him off. “That’s the best way to resolve things. Don’t just try and guess at what he’s feelings or why he is doing something. I could give you a load of advice but honestly none of it may be right.”

Barry decided he made a good point but at the same time he didn’t want to upset Len by bringing it up, maybe he could talk to someone else as well.

Cisco’s voice pulled Barry abruptly out of his thoughts when he declared “Now, are we playing _Lego Indiana Jones_ or not?”

**********

So Cisco was really no help and just told Barry what he pretty much already knew – that he should actually talk to Len. Thing was Barry wasn’t great at wording things sometimes and was worried he’d say something to offend Len. He’d probably end up saying the wrong thing when he eventually spoke to him anyway, but for now he still wanted a second opinion about what to do.

And who better to ask than Len’s very protective little sister, Lisa Snart.

They were meeting early evening, just as it has gotten fully dark at a little café for a coffee. Usually Barry would suggest Jitters but he didn’t exactly wanna be recognised by anyone either. Barry had said that they didn’t actually have to go out but Lisa insisted since she still loved a good iced chocolate Frappuccino, even if it did nothing for her.

Barry arrived after Lisa and saw her sat at one of the tables. He greeted her, went to get his own large cappuccino then sat down across from her.

“So, if you’re calling me, I can only assume this is either about my brother or about something you don’t want him to know?” she raised an eyebrow, pointedly.

“It’s nothing bad if that’s what you’re thinking. But I do need… advice,” Barry said, his hands fidgeting a little. “Now I know you totally don’t want details-” he started before Lisa cut him off.

“Please don’t tell you me you came here for advice about my brother and your sex lives. I know the two of us are close but they are some things a sister does _not_ need to know.”

“What?” Realisation hit Barry about what he’d just implied, “Oh, god no, no no. There isn’t any uhh, _you know_. He pulls away every time I try and get close to him, _that’s_ the problem. I kinda assumed the opposite would happen what with the dreams and all and if this is too weird for you then don’t worry…” Barry said.

Lisa looked slightly relieved.

“Well, lucky for you I know my brother pretty much better than he knows himself. It sounds like it might be a control thing. I hoped he’d worked through it but it takes time. If he’s pulling away from _that_ , or more importantly _you,_ it’s either because he doubts his self-control in the situation or is just worried about pushing you into something,”

“When Lewis (she visibly shuddered just saying the name) did what he did, we were both out of control, which you know and we couldn’t reign in our basic urges. That loss of control over our bodies is why we never used our glamour on anyone. Knowing what it’s like to not be in control, we never wanted anyone else to experience that. He’s probably worried about you and ruining what you already have.”

Barry took a moment to digest what Lisa had told him. He’d never really thought about it like that, that Len might feel like he was losing control in the heat of the moment when his basic instincts took over. Not that he actually thought that would happen though. That definitely made sense but Barry still worried that it wasn’t quite the full reason. He still had other worries but those weren’t the kind he could ask his boyfriend’s sister.

“Thanks Lisa, that’s actually really helpful, but he should know that would never happen. I tried talking to Cisco about this but he really wasn’t helpful and just told me to talk to Len, which I totally will do as well. I just wanted an outside perspective was all in case I was overreacting or reading it all wrong, especially from someone who know him so well.”

Lisa smiled brightly, “Anytime, _Scarlet_.”

It was a little alarming how much the two Snart siblings could sound alike sometimes. Barry also wondered how she knew of the nickname Len used for him. Knowing Len that’s probably what Barry was listed as on his phone contacts.

“So speaking of my favourite engineer, how is dear Cisco?”

They sat and enjoyed their drinks while Lisa continued to ask about Cisco and the goings on at STAR labs. Barry actually really liked spending time with her; she was easy to talk to and evidently gave good advice.

As they got up to leave Lisa turned to Barry, a look like she’d just remembered something she wanted to say. “Oh and by the way sweetie, not all vampires are sex crazed, _despite_ what you might think,” she whispered, before flicking her hair and walking out the door.

Huh, well that was news to Barry.

**********

Barry’s evenings had recently been taken up with a string of robberies and other crimes which required him to be on the scene and then processing evidence late into the evening. He’d had to reschedule things with Len a couple of times because of work, so when he finally got an evening when they were both free, he decided to take full advantage of it and talk to Len, _finally._

Barry and Len were lying on the sofa at Len’s house, with Barry’s chest pressed to Len’s and Len’s legs framing Barry’s hips. They’d been watching an episode of _Firefly_ which had now finished and had been lazily kissing for a few minutes, just enjoying the close contact and being together.

“Len, can I ask you something?” Barry said, feeling a little unsure, like it was one of those now or never moments.

“Mmmh.”

“Umm, I’m not really sure how to say this. But, well… do you find me attractive? I mean, that’s not really what I mean but well, umm it’s just every time we start making out or I try and get close to you, you cool things down or you completely turn away from me and we don’t go any further and I definitely feel you getting aroused, kinda hard to miss. I know I’ve not done this before but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to. I know at first you were probably being respectful of me and not pushing me which I appreciate but we’ve been together for a while now and there are things I’d like to try at least and it’s just… I’m just starting to wonder if I’ve done something. My inexperience doesn’t put you off does it? And it’s just with the dreams I had of us as well, I kind of assumed you’d try and jump on me at the first chance but you never did and- Oh god, I’m so sorry this is probably coming out all wrong.”

“Scarlet, breath,” Len said coolly, “First of all, I had no control over those dreams. I’m sorry if that kind of freaked you out a bit. I probably should have mentioned sooner that no, not all vampires are like that in real life. Second of all, it’s nothing you’ve done. When I turned away it’s because my… fangs came out and I didn’t want to scare you.  And no I don’t care if you’re inexperienced, you know that.  I suppose you could say…” Len paused to take a breath and Barry saw what he thought was a hint of nervousness flutter across Len’s face. “…In certain terms this is all new for me too,” Len finished.

“Hang on, you mean you’re…?” Barry trailed; face a mixture of shock and confusion.

“Not quite. I had partners before I was turned, quite a bit of experience in fact. But when I was turned I had this new strength and everything felt heightened and new again. I haven’t been with anyone since I was turned. You were the first person I’d even kissed since then. I was terrified of hurting someone if I got carried away and I never wanted to get caught up in the moment like that and lose control. Who knows what I could do.”

So Lisa had been right about the control thing then. Barry was relieved it wasn’t just about him. He probably should have mentioned before about what Lisa said but had gotten caught up in his rambling and all his worries had just tumbled from his lips.

“I want you Barry, so badly. I love what we do already, kissing you and holding you is one of the most wonderful things in the world and I desperately want more but I just don’t know, I can’t put you in danger like that. That’s why I’ve never broached the subject of sex with you. I just couldn’t stand it if I ever hurt you.”

“Len, you won’t hurt me. Jeeze, look at the control you’ve had up to now, even when things got a little heated with us you always held back. I don’t believe you could ever put me in danger, caught up in the moment or not. So you’re strong, well I’m fast, fast enough that nothing bad could happen. And besides, I am a superhero remember? Super healing and all that?” Barry said cheerfully, trying to reassure Len. Although maybe that that last part didn’t actually help.

“I’m not going to push you for anything, obviously I would never do that, but I think it would be okay if we did try anything. I mean, I want to, with you, if you want to?” Barry looked to Len hopefully. “And if you never want to go all the way then that’s okay too,” Barry added, a smile breaking out across his face.

“Barry, I know I would never consciously hurt you. It’s just that loss of control when Lewis made me do things. I’m scared that will happen again, especially if I’m really in to it and enjoying myself. When I fed from those people I enjoyed it and I couldn’t stop myself. I don’t want that with you Barry. Just taking pleasure regardless of where it’s coming from,” Len answered solemnly.

“That won’t happen. I know you Len. Trust me, even if you don’t trust yourself. Yes your fangs make it obvious what you are, but I have never been scared of you, never not wanted to spend time with you since I found out what you were. You are not a monster, you never have been, just someone who was given a bad situation and has dealt with it in the best way they could. Besides like I said before, I can easily get myself out if the situation gets too heated or rough or whatever. Not that I think it would but, I can handle it. Handle you,” Barry said defiantly, tapping Len on the nose lightly.

Len held Barry’s gaze for a couple of seconds then breathed in deeply and said “Okay, Barry.”

“Okay what?”

“I know I can be stubborn, but I trust you and your judgement. That nothing bad will happen. And like you say, you’re more than capable of resolving the situation if I do get carried away. I’ve had these powers for 10 years now and self-control has always been something I’ve practised. So I’m willing to try but I think it best if we start small, test the waters so to speak?” Len took Barry’s face in his palms and kissed him gently, he pulled away but held Barry’s gaze. “The last thing I would ever want would be to hurt you in that way Barry.” Barry smiled brightly in lieu of a reply, he knew Len doubted himself but Barry never did. “And if, _when_ we get to going all the way, I’ll trust you that it will be good.”

“Okay. Yeah, we can totally start off small, like we don’t even have to touch right away if you’d prefer.” Len furrowed his brow in confusion as a wicked grin played across Barry’s face. Barry leaned in to graze Len’s ear with his lips.

“What if you just watched me?” Barry said boldly. That definitely got Len’s attention. Suddenly Barry pulled back a little unsure of himself, realising what he’d said. Was that too soon? Too much?

 “You, umm don’t have to touch me but I can still get you off? We don’t have to but I thought then at least we both get something out of it? Or, um if that’s not-”

“You’d do that for me?” Len asked.

“Of course, I wanna make you feel good and this way you can’t lose control of your strength, not that I think you would anyway, as you’ll only be touching yourself.”

Barry pulled away from Len and rose up to kneel on the sofa and started running his hands over his body.

“Barry…”     

“Len, just enjoy it. I just want to make you feel good.”

**********

Barry continued running his hands up his sides and occasionally stopping to pinch a nipple and give it a little tug. He moved his hands down to sensually rub his thighs and lightly grab his clothed bulge. Len sat up more, eyes fixated on Barry’s form and the beautiful way his body was moving, he really was beautiful.

Len felt his own cock stir again and start to harden more at the sight in front of him, oh how he wanted Barry more than anything.

Barry pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. He swooped in to steal a kiss before continuing his little show. Barry dragged the zip on his jeans down. If he was even the slightest bit embarrassed or nervous, it certainly didn’t show. The bulge was now obvious through his tight boxers. He stroked himself through the fabric a couple of times and let out a slight moan. Len couldn’t look away, couldn’t bear to take his eyes off this beautiful boy in front of him.

His own hardness was now more prominent and starting to get uncomfortable in the tight material. He reached down and slowly rubbed his clothed cock a couple of times to relieve some of the pressure.

Barry locked eyes with Len and gently pulled himself out of his underwear, obviously feeling the cool rush of air over his hot skin. He was fully hard now. Barry gave a couple of tentative strokes, before throwing his head back and moaning in pleasure. Len was definitely getting worked up now, so much so that his fangs extended. Barry had only seen Len’s fangs once so far, he’d tried to hide the other couple of times when they’d come out, involuntarily. Len still felt a little self-conscious at showing them, showing how turned on he was.

 Barry raised his head up and looked at Len who turned away when Barry caught sight of his extended fangs, he knew what Barry had just said but it was sort of a knee jerk reaction to turn away.

“Look at me, Len. Every part of you is sexy, your fangs are sexy. Don’t try and hide part of yourself from me.” God, Len loved this boy so much, his ability to instantly soothe Len’s fears, telling him he wanted every part of Len, good and bad.

Barry continued his strokes which soon changed into a pumping action, coupled with rolls of his hips. Barry was letting out whimpers and moans now which went straight to Len’s groin. Len couldn’t resist any longer. He hastily unzipped his jeans and pulled out his cock, inhibitions gone now. He worked it in just the right way and felt the pleasure surge through him.

Barry was close if the change in noises was any indication. Barry worked himself a couple more times before coming all over his stomach with Len’s name on lips. His cheeks and neck were flushed red. After he came down from his orgasmic high he looked back to Len, cock still in hand. He watched Len finish before he spoke.

“Uh, was that okay?” Barry asked tentatively, tucking himself away and wiping himself with some tissues.

“Fuck Scarlet. That was more than okay. If this is your idea of how to move forward, then I approve. I didn’t realise watching was on the table, I could watch you do that all day. Maybe I will at some point,” Len said with a wink.

“Oh, uh yeah well it just kinda felt right. And it was pretty hot, knowing you were watching me.” Barry’s cheeks flushed more at that. Clearly Barry was more creative than Len gave him credit for and this was good they could take things slow and still have fun with it.

 Len reached for the tissues to clean himself off too and also retracted his fangs.

“So, we’re decided then. Take things slow and just see where that gets us?” Len clarified.

“Exactly and there will never be any pressure for anything. I mean I’m up for some stuff but not everything just yet. We’ll just take things as they come and move at our own pace. Whatever makes both of us feel comfortable,” Barry responded, smiling widely. “And thank you for talking to me about all of this.”

“Thank you for listening to all my worries,” Len countered. “Well then, why don’t you heat up the food you brought over and we can watch another episode or put on a film if you like? It’s not too late yet.”

“Yeah I’d really like that, Len,” Barry responded.

The rest of the night was spent with Barry snuggled in close to Len on the sofa while they watched a couple of the _Harry Potter_ films. Barry left around midnight as he had to be up early for work the next day and Len wouldn’t be going to sleep anytime soon.

That was the one thing that Len wished was different. He wished that he could have Barry sleep in his bed and wake up to him the next day. See the morning light pouring on to his sleeping form as he roused from sleep. Of course, that would also involve Barry staying out all night, and although his friends could cover for some of the late nights, Len assumed it wouldn’t be long until Detective West actually caught on to where Barry was spending his nights. And wouldn’t that be a fun one to explain.

For now though, he could still wish.

**********

After the night’s events Barry felt incredibly content when he crawled into bed. Feeling like they were in a good place again and that communication was most definitely the key. He also learned something else: that he was completely and utterly in love with his boyfriend.

Barry was up early the next day, an early meeting with Singh and the other officers then more evidence processing which needed to be done immediately, Singh had told him. He also met Iris for lunch and had told her all about Len and how he felt now. She was completely over the moon for him.

Luckily he also got to finish early due to all the overtime he’d done recently. It seemed the captain was cutting him a break for once. Barry sped over to STAR labs and practically bounced through to the cortex, feeling so happy. Caitlin and Cisco shared a look.

“What’s up dude? You’re in a very good mood,” Cisco said while waving his tablet around.

“I spoke to Len and it went really well and I, I’m pretty sure I’m in love.” Barry beamed.

“I know I had my reservations at first about his intentions but I’m so pleased for you Barry.” Caitlin drew him into a tight hug. “Although, we could probably have told you that a while ago based on how you’ve been acting.”

“Yeah, kinda hard to miss with your love-struck looks every time we mentioned the guy!” Cisco joked.

“Thank you guys. It means so much to have your support. And I know not all of you were very fond of him at first but he is one of the best things to ever happen to me and he makes me so happy. I really wanna tell him but I wanna make it really special. I want to make him something. Well actually I want to ask the two of you to _help_ me make him something.”

“I’m listening,” Cisco said, intrigue in his voice.

“Is it possible to make something to allow vampires to walk in the sunlight?” Barry asked hopefully. “That’s probably the biggest thing that Len misses about what he is and I thought that it would be an amazing thing to do, if I can. If _we_ can.”

“Hmm. Well in my research I have come across mentions of that sort of thing but it’s very brief. I suppose in theory there would possibly be a way and with enough research and testing I’m sure we could figure it out,” Caitlin mused.

“This is gonna be fun,” Cisco exclaimed.

And so the next couple of weeks were spent with any free time around actual Flash business being used to research and then design prototypes. The technology they created was eventually scaled down enough to be the size of a piece of jewellery. Barry decided a ring would be best. They just needed to fine tune everything and actually test it, which Barry wasn’t entirely sure how to do yet.

Fortunately help came two and a half weeks into the project, when a surprise guest paid a visit to STAR labs.

“So, what’s this I hear about you giving Lenny a ring?” said a female voice ringing out through the lab. “Gotta say I’m a little hurt you didn’t ask for my blessing.” She teased.

“Lisa? Wha- how did you? Cisco?!”

“I’m sorry man. It just slipped out. I was super pumped about the progress we’d made with it,” Cisco stated.

“Okay, okay. One more person knowing doesn’t hurt I suppose and actually this kinda works if you’d be willing to help us test it?” He looked to Lisa optimistically. “Oh and by the way I’m not actually proposing,” Barry defended.

“Sure you’re not,” she added teasingly. “So, if I agree to be you little guinea pig. Will you make me one too? It gets old getting my hair and nails always done at night, and a girl’s always gotta look her best doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, totally, we can definitely do that.” Cisco responded.

“We can?” Barry exclaimed.

“Yeah, why not. It won’t take as long the second time round either. We already know what we’re doing now.”

Barry couldn’t disagree there. And they did owe her if Lisa was prepared to help them out.

Lisa came by over the next couple of evenings to check on progress. They were in final prototype stage and nearly ready to start testing. Barry was getting a little restless in anticipation of finally seeing Len. Worried he’d accidentally end a phone call with ‘I love you’ and ruin the surprise which he wanted to be perfect. As luck would have it he’d only been able to see Len briefly since their last time together, which worked in Barry’s favour as he was sure he would not be able to contain how he felt if they spent any longer together.

It was decided that they would have Lisa test Len’s ring first and then Lisa’s would be created once they were sure it worked. And because Lisa was bound to want some input into the design. When Cisco mentioned setting a day for the test, Lisa simply responded, in her usual flirty tone, “Just let me know when you need me. Always happy to make time for you, Cisco.”

On the Friday before the big test, which was due to take place in the morning, Iris came by the labs. She knew Barry was making something for Len, but didn’t know what form it would take, yet.

“Look at this baby!” was how Cisco greeted her as she walked into the cortex, holding up the intricate titanium band to show her.

“Is that a ring?” Iris punched Barry on the arm, slightly hardy than Barry felt was necessary. “Is this what I think it is?” She said gleefully, another punch.

“No Iris, I am so not proposing! Why does everyone keep assuming that?

“Well rings are the traditional thing for engagements so…” she trailed off.

“No, no. _This_ ” he gestured to the ring, “is what is gonna let Len be in sunlight. It just works well being a ring. It’s easy to always have on you and it’s not gonna get tangled or anything like a necklace would,” Barry clarified.

“Okay, Barr. Whatever you say,” Iris replied.

That evening Lisa came by as she was staying over for the big test tomorrow morning. They were actually all planning on staying and having a sleepover of sorts, Iris included, and it made things easier for the early morning test. They’d made up the lounge with camp beds and various bedding. Lisa mentioned that she probably wouldn’t actually sleep as her sleeping pattern would be way off but she appreciated the gesture.

The next day Cisco gathered everyone in the cortex. “Okay, so the sun is gonna be rising soon. The plan is for Lisa to walk out wearing the ring and we’re gonna have some big, thick blankets on hand to cover her just in case anything goes not according to plan. It won’t be too bright but will be enough for what we need. Then if all goes well, we can go back in and I’ll start working on Lisa’s ring while Barry no doubt rushes off to find Len.”

**********

It was about 8am when they were finished with their testing which was a resounding success. Barry never doubted Cisco or Caitlin for one minute with their biological and technological know-how. Lisa was delighted with the result. As soon as they got inside the labs Lisa handed the ring to Barry with words of encouragement. He was now eager to see Len and give him the present; he really hoped Len would still be awake as he fished his phone out of his pocket. 

“Hey Len, are you still up? I know it’s early or late in your case but I have something really good and really important to tell you.”

“Sure Scarlet, what’s the rush?”

“You’ll see.”

Barry said a few hasty goodbyes at the labs and said he’d check in later. He then flashed off to Len’s house.

*********

When Len opened the door it was to a very cheery speedster. Barry practically couldn’t stop smiling. He greeted Len with a kiss and then made to sit down on the sofa. Barry was practically bouncing.

“Okay, umm I’m just gonna say it, because I’ve been figuring out how to do this for a while, which words to use and-” Barry cut himself off, noticing he was rambling. “Len I love you. I really really love you and I have something for you.”

Len almost couldn’t believe he was hearing those words. Yes he’d hoped by now that Barry felt the same but hearing it was something else entirely. He didn’t even have the words at the moment to respond, he’d been so thoroughly caught off guard.

“Before I give you this I’d just like to clarify that this is not an engagement ring.”

Len was intrigued now as to what Barry had for him. Len was presented with a small box which he opened carefully. It contained a band made up of two rings which had been intricately twisted together and was set with a dazzling blue stone. The piece of jewellery was gorgeous. He never expected Barry to go to so much effort for him.

“It’s beautiful Barry. Thank you.”

“That’s not the best part. The guys at the lab helped me create it. It will allow you to walk in the sun.”

Len fell silent, but his face was a picture of emotion, clearer to read in that moment than in the months Barry had spent getting to know the man.

Len remained still and silent, in awe and shock and about a thousand other things. He stared at Barry while he took in exactly what’d he’d just said. _It will allow you to walk in the sun_. He almost couldn’t believe this was real, was that actually what Barry had just said?

“Oh god, did I do something wrong. Please say something Len. I always thought that no longer being able to go out in daylight was something that you hated. That you hated how it was taken away from you.”

“Barry-” Len started to tear up, it was very long time since he’d cried but he tried to smile through it. After all they weren’t tears of sadness. He was still at a loss for words though. “This is- no-one’s ever… this is just-”

Barry had never seen Len speechless before.

In lieu of actual words Len pulled Barry close and hugged him tightly, expressing his affection in another way. He spoke a muffled “Thank you,” in between fallen tears.

Once he’d regained a bit of composure and the tears had mostly stopped, Len pulled back from the hug to look at Barry.

“And I love you too Barry, so much.” He kissed Barry deeply and held him tight again. The ring box was still clutched in Len’s hand. He pulled the ring out with shaky fingers and put it on his right index finger, admiring it as he did so. “This ring it’s perfect. I didn’t even know it was possible to create something like this.”

“Well neither did we really, but uhh we may have had some help testing it.”

“Lisa. That’s why she’s been so secretive recently then.”

“Well then what’s say we test it out?” Barry said enthusiastically.

“This is why you wanted to catch me before I went to bed then.”

“Exactly. So Len, will you walk in the sun with me?”

“I think I can forgo sleep for a few hours.”

They walked outside just as the sun was fully rising. It was so long since Len had seen a sunrise but he couldn’t think of a better moment to see one again. Barry never stopped amazing Len.

Len felt the first few warms rays on his face and just wanted to stand there and bathe in it. They wondered aimlessly around the city for a while. Len just soaking up the sensation of sunlight again and the warmth it brought him, even if he usually preferred the cold.

When they got back to Len’s house, he immediately set about opening up the once blocked off windows. Letting the light pour in all around. He still couldn’t believe this was happening and that it wasn’t a dream.

He also knew that he so badly wanted to make his dream of having Barry in his bed with the sun hitting his early morning figure a reality as soon as he could. But first, he wanted to change his sleeping pattern around so he could spend the whole night sleeping, nestled against Barry’s perfect form.

**********

It was one week later when Len asked Barry to stay over. Barry was quick to accept, it was obvious that he’d probably wanted that too for a while. Just sleeping with the other and feeling that closeness and intimacy.

Len started to rouse from sleep and saw Barry propped up on his elbow staring at him. Barry was so beautiful and he looked divine with how the sunlight streaked in through the curtains and hit Barry just right.

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself Barry, enjoying the view?”

“You mean am I enjoying staring at my incredibly gorgeous boyfriend? Then yes, yes I am.” Len loved it when Barry was a little bold.

Barry moved closer and leaned into a kiss, slow and warm and perfect. Len could feel Barry’s morning erection pressed against him a little. He decided that this was the moment he wanted to touch Barry for the first time. He was a bit nervous but knew he could control his strength, thanking Barry silently once again for having that level of trust in Len.

He kissed Barry back and ran his fingers up Barry’s sides and then thighs. He looked to Barry for permission, hands stilling just on the inside of Barry’s thighs.

“Can I touch you?” Len asked tentatively, he didn’t want to do any more than what Barry was comfortable with.

“Yeah, I’d like that. If you’re sure.”

“Sure as ever, Scarlet,” Len purred.

Len started to delicately ghost his fingers over Barry's erection through the fabric of his boxers. His anxiousness wasn’t all because of his superior strength though. It had been quite some time since he’d given a hand job to anyone bar himself and he wanted to make this so good for Barry.

Len pulled Barry’s boxers down and wrapped his hand around Barry’s erection, starting with gentle and soft movements of his hand.

“You can go faster, harder if you like. I promise I won’t break.”

Len started to work Barry’s cock harder, change up his movements a bit. Hearing the small moans leave Barry’s mouth only served to spur him on. Barry was bucking up into Len’s hand and moaning ever louder, words completely failing Barry. He came suddenly as Len stroked him a couple more times.

“Oh shit, sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t get a chance to warn you. That was a lot more intense than I expected, you know having someone else do it.” Barry was still panting hard.

“Don’t worry Red,” Len said while wiping his hand on a tissue. “It’s not like I didn’t know what would happen. Was that okay though? I wasn’t too rough? I really don’t wanna break your dick the first time I jerk you off,” Len tried to sound neutral but the slight worry was evident in his voice.

Barry laughed at how Len has phrased that. “Nah, that was really great. Really really great in fact. Do you mind if I return the favour?”

“You don’t have to just because I got you off.”

“But what if I want to?” Barry leaned in closer to Len’s ear. “Want to see you come undone from my touch alone. Want to watch as you come just from my fingers?”

_Fuck_ , Barry could be filthy when he wanted. Len loved it.

“Yeah. Yeah okay,” Len breathed out. So content in that moment, It was perfect. Barry was perfect.

Barry Allen was more than Len could have ever wished for in his wildest dreams, and now he had him, Len was certain he was never letting him go.

**Author's Note:**

> The initial idea I had for this was: "what would happen if Len gave Barry his blood and Barry had intense sex dreams about him?" And then it kinda went from there. Please let me know what you think! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!


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